Summary: Zhuge Liang’s third Northern expedition gets off to a promising start, but what else is new?<br> <br> * <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/2017/09/04/episode-127-a-familiar-script/#transcript">Transcript</a><br> * <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ep_127.png">Map of Key Locations</a><br> * <a href="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1-3vR8XCX1Vm7vPQlpw5AFc18TDL--dBMqbyvhXrg">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/2017/09/3kingdoms127.pdf">PDF version</a><br> Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 127.<br> Last time, Zhuge Liang had launched his third Northern campaign, and he was off to a strong start, taking the previously troublesome passage of Chencang and then sacking the cities of Wudu (3,1) and Yinping (1,2). The man sent to stop him, Sima Yi, tried to retaliate by sending his vanguard generals Zhang He and Dai (4) Ling (2) to raid Zhuge Liang’s camp, but Zhuge Liang had a trap waiting for them. Soon, the two Wei generals found themselves surrounded, and Zhuge Liang told them to surrender at once.<br> But Zhang He was furious at this insult. Pointing at Zhuge Liang, he cursed. “You are a country bumpkin who’s encroaching on my kingdom’s borders. How dare you speak such nonsense?! If I catch you, I will cut you to pieces!”<br> So Zhang He tried to fight his way up the hillside to get at Zhuge Liang. But he was immediately pushed back by a torrent of arrows and boulders. So he now charged right through the ranks of the Shu forces that surrounded him. Remember, Zhang He is the last surviving member of that elite club of officers who followed Cao Cao on his campaigns, and he was one of Wei’s mightiest warriors. As he charged to and fro, no one dared to get in his way. When he had fought his way out, he realized that his lieutenant Dai Ling was still trapped inside the enemy ranks. So Zhang He turned around and dove back into the fray, rescuing Dai Ling and fighting his way out once again.<br> Watching from atop the hill, Zhuge Liang saw Zhang He storming here, there, and everywhere, seemingly growing more invigorated as the fight went on. Zhuge Liang turned to the officers by his side and said, “I often heard about the fight between Zhang He and Zhang Fei, and how its ferocity stunned everyone who witnessed it. Only now do I see what a warrior Zhang He is. He will be a thorn in our side if we allow him to live. I must eliminate him.”<br> But today was not the day for that. With his prey having escaped, Zhuge Liang returned to camp with his army to plan his next move. <br> <a href="https://i2.wp.com/www.3kingdomspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/quotes_ep127a.jpg"></a><br> Meanwhile, Sima Yi had lined up his troops in front of the Shu camp, waiting for his raiding party to throw the back of the enemy’s lines into chaos before attacking. Suddenly, he saw Zhang He and Dai Ling scrambling back to tell him that, uh, about that plan. We’ve got a slight problem.<br> “Zhuge Liang is truly divine!” a stunned Sima Yi said. “We must fall back.”<br> So he ordered his army to return to camp and assume a defensive posture. As for Zhuge Liang, he returned to camp with countless captured weapons and horses, and he sent Wei Yan to go challenge for combat every day. But the Wei forces had learned their lesson, and they now refused to come out. So half a month passed without any further combat.<br> One day, while Zhuge Liang was contemplating his next move, he got word that the emperor had sent the official Fei (4) Yi (1) to deliver an edict. Zhuge Liang welcomed him in and performed the proper rituals for receiving an imperial edict. Fei Yi then started reading the decree. The edict announced that given Zhuge Liang’s recent accomplishments, he was being promoted back to prime minister,
