At This moment, Zhu geliang knows that sima Yi has simply Given him 'face'. Also at This moment they both realize that Their relationship becomes like Batman and joker, Superman and lex Luther, can not survive without each other.
SimaYi decision was reasonable at many aspects, if you follow the story by far. Here is the explain: Before start you should aware this is life-threathening situation, if goes wrong you will possibly die. + at this point zgl had been well known for his ambush tactic cause massive casuality of his enemies(caocao/wei). These stories enough to drop everyone balls to deal with zgl. + simayi troops stop at the safe position which far enough to let him has time to retreat if something surprisely goes wrong as he can’t decide yet whether to against or not, that mean less observation at surrounding + must understand ambush are not always in the castle/fort. It might be hidden surround area and come out when your army lost control. Zgl had used these tactic in many war before along the story. + you can’t send hundreds or thousands people to trigger all the ambush army out. They are spread in small troop and will only come out when time is right. Espeacially zgl army which well-known for its high dicipline. It doesn’t work and might be condemed by your own army if you do so and something went wrong. Nobody want to die + simayi decide to judge the music as simply you can’t play music well when you are in anxious was entirely reasonable. As if the music played gentlely you might be back by something bigger. + Wei sent simayi to deal with zgl as they had enough trouble causing by zgl. If simayi had character same as common warlord he is dead long before this. Note : in the story there is not mention simayi know the castle was empty. And keep zgl alive for his own credit. This idea entirely invented by modern people recently. Zgl never wear armor, but simayi always wear full armor and did not took off even in his own camp. Simayi had admitted he is not as good as zgl and must always prepared for the worse Zgl forseen Simayi character to use this tactic. If somebody else , Shu Army not even close in this retreat situation. They might have conquered ChangAn already
First and foremost, ZGL did cause Wei trouble, but the second northern campaign was repelled by Cao Zhen, in fact, only in his first campaign, did ZGL actually had potential to devastate Wei, and that was due to appointment of Xia Houmao, and his subsequent foolishness. Cao Zhen is intelligent, experienced commander, furthermore his is relative of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, he has huge reputation within the Wei Government, his death is what gave a glimpse of hope of rising to power. remember at his death bed, Cao Cao was worried only about Si Mayi, to he called for Chen Qun, Cao Zhen and someone else if I remember correctly. Saying ZGL is more intelligent than Si Mayi is disrespectful to both the novel and history, as the book portrayed the two as equals in all their encounters, while subjectively, all ZGL's northern campaigns ended as losses, mostly by the hands of Si Mayi. The empty fortress can only made sense of by assuming Si Mayi needs ZGL alive in order to continue to maintain his own power, since if they are close enough to hear ZGL playing instrument(whatever that is called) a single arrow is enough to kill ZGL. On the bigger picture, having lost Jieting, Si Mayi can isolate Shu forces in the harsh plains at Northwest (Guan Wai), ZGL must retreat, Si Mayi can divide cavalry units and send them to both locate and pursue (which he did so in other situations eg. sending Zhang He or Guo Huai as forward assult on multiple occasions). A full retreat is definitely a pussy move, unless there is a ulterior motive. On a separate note, ZGL dont have the economy to back his campaigns, so a turtle strategy is a straight forward win without gambling lives, I would not discredit Si mayi in any way. ZGL was never a general, ZGL did lead the campaigns but not a general in name. ZGL excels in trickery and deception by reading the thoughts of others, but the art of warfare is far more complex, it is the arguement in how to effectively march troops, maintain supplies, setup camps, setup chains of command, engaging battles and dealing with morals and other issues. Remember Sun Tzi is known for two separate works: Art of War, and 36 tricks. Tricks can be used to achieve success, but they are not really the art of war. From start to finish, ZGL tricked many, but only and just tricks. And his art of troop formation which he passed to Jiang Wei did not give Jiangwei an upper hand over Deng Ai. Many many things points towards ZGL being not so capable in warfare. On the other hand, Si Mayi is appointed general and maintained his general position. Si Mayi is roughly same age as Cao Cao and had ambition to serve Han in Quashing rebellions, so he is more versed in the art of warfare, (during ZGL's first northern campaign, ZGL fortified Jieting and marched west, away from his own objective to deal with outer forces of Wei, though this seems like a safe choice, it left both Jieting and ZGL's ally Meng Da alone in the east, Meng Da at this point has yet to betray Wei, and because ZGL marched west, he cannot act, but Si Mayi had predicted he may rebel and so instead of assuming command of his main force by going to Xu Chang, he marched top speed to Mengda, knowing that before Mengda officially rebels, many people will not be willing to rebel, in contrast to ZGL marching long distance to war and still wasting time and supplies marching west, Si Mayi knows the importance of speed and Mengda's underlings weakness at heart, this is both 兵贵于速 and 不战而屈人之兵. The surrender of Mengda meant once Si Mayi's main force arrives, Shu could be facing enemies on two front, in the novel ZGL let out a massive sigh as he never expected Mengda's 100000, though arguable, as an ally to disappear in an instant, and that he already foresaw the campaign going downhill.) Si Mayi in his first novel appearance was practicing swords, he was keen to serve as a general, so wearing armor is very appropriate, Lu Xun when assumed head commander position also worn armor, nothing wrong with that.
Le00chang the story what you have written is reformatted version by modern China these days and not original luokuanchong rtk version. Zgl had burnt or ambush Wei army since in XinYe, not first northern campaign. CaoZhen is not capable man in LuoGuanChong rtk version.
The point I am raising is that: 1. Si Mayi is just as capable as ZGL 2. ZGL's failing military campaigns are partially due to both his own decisions 3. ZGL's tricks were successful on multiple occasions, they look good on paper, but they did not win Shu anything. From our perspective as a reader, I can argue with the amount of effort he put into war and planning operations, he could have done a much better job administrating the nation, and wait for chaos in Wei for counter attack as he first proposed to LiuBei during their first meeting. 4. ZGL compares himself as 管仲,乐毅. One is famous for policies in forming the Qi state into a powerful nation overwhelming all over six nations, the other formed a six nation alliance and nearly conquered Qi. Saying he is more capable than both is clear arrogance, though ZGL do have his abilities, but管仲 乐毅 are two individuals who stood at the peak of their respective fields. in contrast, during ZGL's 'rule', Shu was drained of its wealth, population did not increase like Wei's did (so 诸葛亮+蒋琬 admin skills are less than 陈群 刘烨 毛玠), and consecutive military defeats speaks pretty good for itself. Rotk supports ZGL as it supports Shu for it is namely pro-royalty, so it will take ZGL's side no matter what. On a side note, there are so many version of the same story that there isnt one thats definitively true, if there is, it would be the true history thats true. And if we are going to talk about true history, then ZGL cannot be as great as he proclaims to be, as his decision to support Liu Bei(who we know was a commoner from the beginning claiming to be royal) caused far longer period of conflict, caused millions to die (yet ZGL lectures others for bringing suffering); claims to be loyal to Han, but urges his lord to form his own nation anyway and never once thought about the Han emperor, which we have seen over and over again in history in people who are ambitious, words and actions are polar opposites.
The strategy he use were only meant for Sima Yi. And Sima Yi alone. If other general leads this. Zhuge Liang certainly use other strategy suited for him
simayi is too smart n too many thinking about his plan imagine if the one who lead the attack is lubu or zhangfei the meat head without strategy, that zhuge will be dead meat :')
in the perspective of sima yi and his army, it at the time would have indeed been smart. caution, and a cool head had removed the risk of any trap or ambush in the city. but, it is also granted in the same way smart to zhuge liang. he also shown caution, and patience. he purposefully put in the front of the city peasants, with open doors, all while playing the zither; a bait that included meat and hunter together. I believe this story was during zhuge liang’s stay in xicheng, which had a small amount of troops as a garrison, while the main army was away. Sima yi had a large enough army to conquer it, yet the strategy of "reverse psychology" was the only "weapon" in use hahaha
@@thewangdynasty256 This story is actually fictional and not in real history, but it's a warning against paranoia, still, deeper thinkers will agree with Sima Yi.
But there wasn't a trap. That was the point. Kongming didn't have a large enough force to defend the city, and there was no chance that reinforcements could arrive in time. But Kongming knew that he had established a reputation of always having a trick up his sleeve, so he (correctly) guessed that, if he pretended a clever plan, Sima Yi would assume there was an effective ambush in wait and retreat even though, in actuality, there was basically no defense at all, and Sima Yi could've easily conquered the city and captured Kongming with little effort if he had tried. Like, yeah, it's good to be cautious as a military leader, but I'd argue that this is more of a story about using other people's perceptions of you to your advantage. As I recall in the book at least, Sima Yi retreated without even trying to do any reconnaissance to determine what Kongming's genius plan may have been; he relied solely on his knowledge of Kongming being a military genius to decide that attacking the city would be too much of a risk.
I am definitely going to watch it - I hope every decade or so different series covering three kingdoms are released. I was def Impressed by the 95 episode 2010 version. Having watched it in conjunction with the 3K podcast.
I always thought ZL was special when I was young, now I'm older I realize he was a fraud and the author exaggerated him to something he's not. This explained his premature death. He try hard in the Northern campaigns. He was known to be a "good judge of character". He executed Ma Su along with other 11 generals to shifted the blame. A historian mentioned ZL shouldn't kill his generals since his kingdom is small. I don't think It's been noted, but what surprise me is the large number of people sentenced following Jieting. Ma Su was executed, but so were Li Sheng and Zhang Xiu. (11 in total got executed). Zhuge Liang dismissed Huang Xi and other generals. According to the Jin Shu, Chen Shou's father was also punished. So, I imagine It was a massive blunder from nearly everyone involved. From the top of my head... 1. Guan Yu did not let Cao Cao go at Huarong Trail. There was simply no one there and Cao Cao managed to escape. 2. Zhuge Liang didn't do much in Wu, or if he spent that much time in Wu at all. I think he merely sent a letter and had a meeting with Sun Quan for about a week before going back to Liu Bei. 3. Sun Quan was the one who got his boat riddled with arrows and he wasn't even thinking about "borrowing" or "collecting" them. 4. The empty fort was deployed by Zhao Yun and not ZL. -Quillion0
You are correct. Sima Yi was not even present for northern expeditions #1 and #2. Luo Guanzhong merely wanted a more compelling rivalry between the two early, to set up Sima Yi's eventual power grab
That's why he use this trick, he knew Sima Yi was a smart strategist, Sima Yi always respect him and after his death the battle at Wu Zhang, Sima Yi gave him the title "the greatest mind under heaven"
It's that tiny bit where Sima Yi closes his eyes to listen and slowly opens them to look away, and then Zhuge Liang opens his eyes and gives the tiniest shake of his head as if his mood was "come at me bro" that sells this scene completely.
One of my favorite lines from the manga for Romance of the Three Kingdoms from this events was Zuege Liang's comment on why this plan would work on Sima Yi "The wise drown in their own wisdom" Sima yi would always be on guard for any perceived trap Zuege Liang laid, so he subverted his expectations with an obvious 'trap' that was meant to make him overthink and over analyze the situation. It was a masterful play, though the soap opera here does certainly make it seem like Sima yi might have seen through I still prefer the Manga's interpretation where Zuege was just thinking 3 steps ahead of Sima.
Zhuge Liang knew he wouldn't attack. On one hand Sima Yi has to think about a potential ambush. On the other hand even if there was no ambush and he attacked and killed Zhuge Liang. The imperial family would kill him because his services are not needed and Sima Yi is too smart to live.
@@lolasdm6959 No, the Wei court is full of talents. They're not killing Sima Yi because of his past accomplishments, and if they were to kill him without a good advertised 'reason', no one would trust the Wei court anymore. But as of talent, China's main resource is human capital, there were plenty of people like Sima Yi. That is why Sima Yi is smart here not killing Zhuge Liang. Basically, one cannot live without the other.
@@charliecho5392 No not really, the Wei court was full of snakes, if Sima Yi wasn't there, the Wei kingdom would have like 100 coups by then. The reason his the one leading all the large forces was because he was the most loyal, Cao Pi made him the regent right before he died, calling him back to the capital three times in a day when he got sick and that says something.
@@lolasdm6959 no, if Zhuge Liang was killed, then there was no need for Sima yi, so the Cao family being always suspicious of Sima yi would either put him in house arrest or instantly kill him. Sima yi made the better choice in which the court or Cao rui could not kill him because they need him to stand against Zhuge Liang
I personally think Sima Yi knew the fortress was empty. Had he attack the fortress and possibly kill Zhuge Liang, the Wei court would have convince Cao Rui to remove Sima Yi from his military position since there was no use for him. Sima Yi was smart and wanted to stall the war longer to maintain his power/position in the military.
can you imagine, if Sima Yi tested him, by getting off his horse and slowly walk towards the gate while staring at him just to really test Zhuge's trap? Would have been stupidly smart and extremely reckless. Sima didn't have just good wisdom, he had good instincts too.
The notes needed to be perfect as to show Zhuge Liang being of peaceful mind. We may think the string breaking was simple bad luck, but to a Chinese person at the time, it would have solely been because of bad energy or a bad state of mind. With the string breaking and Sima Yi still calling the retreat, it implies Sima Yi already saw through the bluff, and merely pretended to fall for it. After all, his one purpose was to kill Zhuge Liang; once that was done, he wouldn't be needed anymore.
@@Tobbs96 When the music is good, Sima Yi thought that it was Level 1 bluff. When the string breaks, Sima Yi thought that Zhuge Liang has upgraded the bluff to Level 2. He becomes more convinced that there was an ambush inside!!
In Chinese artistic expression, breaking the string typically means that the situation is changing negatively and a crisis is coming (towards the audience) because the player isn't playing nice and sound (he wants to act) just as Sima Yi said. So Sima Yi might be thinking that Zhuge Liang wanted to order his ambush army to attack. It might be too late if not retreat immediately
Another reason why I think this worked, is because Sima Yi has never seen Zhuge apply this tactic. If he used it in the past, Zhuge would know this would never work.
I am sorry, but the music in this TV series is just genius... @5:22 it fits the feeling you get after an intense situation... I beautifully catches the scene.... It's so well done I can't even explain it
@@majorzbombasu6788 Sadly, it doesn't have a title and doesn't exist in isolation of background noise. I have searched countless Chinese sites for this series looking for tbe individual production music but they don't exist. No direct rip exists either cause the series is so old and it can't ve done. But Zhuge's zither piece is very well known and exists in countless videos and performances.
@@charliecho5392 Zhao Yun is just an overpraised character in the novel. In history he was not even close to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as a general. Get real
@@charliecho5392 Now you are just trying to switch the topic. All I was trying to say is that Zhao Yun is overrated, in history he is not the Demi god that many his fans make him out to be. He was not even close to Guan and Zhang's level in terms of either accomplishments or martial arts skills.
There are other adaptations that Zhuge Liang didn't truly fool Sima Yi with the "Empty Fort" strategy. Sima Yi took advantage of Zhuge Liang's bluff and retreated knowing that he could've killed him right then and there. Sima Yi needed Zhuge Liang to live as his death would cause Sima Yi's importance in Wei to greatly diminish. The Cao family was already highly suspicious of his brilliance during this time but kept him as Grand General of Yong-Liang Province as he was the only general to rival Zhuge Liang. Keeping Zhuge Liang as Wei's boogyman let him further rise to providence to eventually overthrow the Wei Dynasty. My favorite troll Zhuge Liang pulled on Sima Yi was the wooden statue of him scaring Sima Yi into retreating after his death. Sima Yi threw a fit saying, "What unbearable shame! Prosperity will say a dead Zhuge scared away a live Sima Yi! They will be saying that for eons!"
Actually, in a local record, it said that the event did happen. But for some reasons the writer of the record of the three kingdoms didn't write this down. But the later fiction writer did and then fixed a bit.
Sleeping dragon, my hero. I'd share a couch with him cuz we're straight up down ass homies. I said straight, you gd millennials that don't appreciate elders and make the world gayer. Elder wisdom is everything and master zhuge liang is unrivaled topmost. 🌞 🌙 🙏 to that master
And there's this funny scene in the "orochi warriors 3", Sima Yi was like "oh y'all think I'm afraid of Zhuge Liang, so they let out the message that the man's here to stop me. His empty fortress trick set me up once and he thinks Imma fall for it again. Get in and kill him". And there's really Zhuge Liang and ambush waiting for him.
Is the dialogue where Sima Yi determines that Kongming's steady playing is proof that he has a calm mind and thus a solid defense in the book? I don't remember that from the book, but I think it's a good addition.
Interesting spin shown in Growling Tiger and Roaring dragon. Sima Yi could have knew it was a trick but he let Zhuge Liang escape. In doing so, the Cao clan will still value his role in the state. Keeping him and his family safe from greedy Cao officials
🤣🤣🤣🙈You've been watching us for a long time....Thank you for helping...Thank you for working together to do good things...What everyone does is good..I'm an ordinary person who comes to learn. From all teachers..the past is in the past...the present is the most important...don't worry.😊
@@starcrying6441 exactly. Sima Yi was repeatedly wronged and when he decided not to serve greedy people and do the right thing, he became known as a traitor. Zhuge Liang on the other hand, laid out a plan to capture Cao Cao, knew that Guan Yu would let Cao Cao flee and even allowed Guan Yu to sign a death sentence, with the intention of "taming" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. As if that were not enough, he still allowed the law to be broken and let Guan Yu go unpunished. To make matters worse, when Zhuge Liang was asked why to allow Cao Cao to flee, he said that beating the other lords would be more difficult than defeating Cao Cao. Which is clearly a lie. Cao Cao alone unified the central plains by defeating all other lords. It was much easier to unify China with Cao Cao dead. I will never understand why Zhuge Liang allowed Cao Cao to flee.
@@FullnessTheArbitrator The event at Huarong trail was fictitious. It never happened. In history, Cao Cao passed by this place while retreating from the disastrous defeat at Chi Bi. Zhuge Liang knew Guan Yu was a righteous man who did not forget the immense hospitality that Cao Cao showered Guan Yu with when Guan was separated from Liu Bei. He also knew that Cao Cao had to stay alive because if the former died, the entire nothern region of the kingdom would be thrown into turmoil. Zhuge Liang also looked at the stars and knew that Cao Cao's life wasnt meant to end at Huarong trail. Therefore, letting Guan Yu guard the trail was merely a way to have Guan repay back the kindness Cao Cao had shown him. But the whole incident didnt really happen. It was one of many fictitous events that was mentioned in the novel.
@@asdfgh-bs3wx I think you mean cao rui And also wouldn't it be easy to take over Wu if Shu falls. Like there would be way too many fronts for the Wu army to fight
@@Blunder_lM Wu is second strongest, it's actually more difficult. Reason Cao is fighting Shu, Zhuge Liang's ambition to restore Han dynasty. While Wu was always happy to keep its own territory, even hesitated about the alliance proposal by Zhuge Liang.