Summary: Tired of Shu’s perpetual encroachment on its borders, Wei decides to take the fight to its nemesis.<br> <br> * <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/2018/03/12/episode-147-the-empire-strikes-back/#transcript">Transcript</a><br> * <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/ep_147.png">Map of Key Locations</a><br> * <a href="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1dfibNQcpp9s3_ARLsAQLxY8BtIqm6LVY7BhN3Fa-">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/2018/03/3kingdoms147.pdf">PDF version</a><br> Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 147.<br> Last time, Jiang Wei … did NOT launch another Northern campaign. Yeah, I know. Crazy! Instead, he had been summoned back from the front lines by his emperor Liu Shan, thanks to some devious maneuvering by the wicked eunuch Huang Hao (4). Jiang Wei lost his cool and demanded that Liu Shan execute Huang Hao, but Liu Shan was like, “Yeah no, that’s not happening. I love that guy!” So Jiang Wei stomped off in a huff.<br> But an official named Xi (4) Zheng (4) soon reminded Jiang Wei that you don’t do something like that without expecting some blowback, and Jiang Wei asked Xi Zheng how he could save himself. <br> Xi Zheng said, “There is a place in the region of Longxi (3,1) called Dazhong (2,1). The soil there is quite fertile. You should follow the late prime minister’s policy of having the soldiers till the soil and ask his highness for permission to go do that in Dazhong (2,1). First, the harvested grain can go to help feed the army. Second, you can try to occupy all the nearby districts. Third, the Wei will not dare to make any moves on Hanzhong. And fourth, as long as you retain command of the army out in the field, no one can move against you, and you will be able to avoid disaster. This is a plan to save yourself and the kingdom. You should do it at once.”<br> <a href="https://i0.wp.com/www.3kingdomspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/quotes_ep147a.jpg"></a><br> “Sir, your advice is priceless!” a delighted Jiang Wei said in gratitude.<br> So the next day, Jiang Wei went to see Liu Shan and told him he wanted to go to Dazhong (2,1) and have the soldiers till the soil there. Liu Shan was like, yeah fine, go go go. The only thing you’re killing around here is my buzz. <br> So Jiang Wei returned to Hanzhong and told his officers, “Our previous campaigns failed because we did not have enough provisions. So I’m going to take 80,000 men and go till the soil in Dazhong (2,1) and look for an opportunity to occupy the region. You all have toiled long and hard on the battlefield. Let’s pull back for now and defend Hanzhong. The enemy has to transport their provisions over a great distance across mountainous terrain. They will be fatigued, and they will fall back. Then we can give chase, and victory will be ours.”<br> Jiang Wei then assigned his top officers to defend various key locations and headed off to Dazhong with 80,000 men.<br> <br> Word soon reached Jiang Wei’s nemesis Deng Ai. When Deng Ai heard that Jiang Wei was in Dazhong and that he had set up 40-some camps in an unbroken line in the shape of a snake, Deng Ai sent spies to go check out the situation and draw it all up on a map. He then sent word of this to the Wei capital. When Sima Zhao saw this report, he was enraged.<br> “Jiang Wei has encroached on the Heartlands time and again,” Sima Zhao said. “If we do not eliminate him, he will always be a concern.”<br> His adviser Jia (3) Chong (1) said, “Jiang Wei has learned Zhuge Liang’s teachings well. It’s hard to repel him quickly. We could send a smart and courageous officer to assassinate him. Then we won’t even have to trouble the army.”<br> But another adviser, Xun (2) Yi (3), disagreed. “You’re mistaken. Right now Liu Shan,
