Main　Next　to　Chapter　108　》》

Romance　of　Three　Kingdoms　…　by　Luo　Guanzhong　…　Chapter　108

Chapter　108

In　The　Snow；　Ding　Feng　Wins　A　Victory；

At　A　Banquet；　Sun　Jun　Executes　A　Secret　Plan。

As　has　been　said；　Jiang　Wei；　in　his　retreat；　fell　in　with　a　force　under　Sima　Shi；　barring　his　road。　It　came　about　thus。　After　Jiang　Wei　invaded　Yongzhou；　Guo　Huai　had　sent　a　flying　messenger　to　the　capital；　and　the　Ruler　of　Wei　summoned　Sima　Yi　for　advice。　It　had　then　been　decided　to　send　reinforcements　to　Yongzhou；　and　fifty　thousand　troops　had　marched；　led　by　the　son　of　the　Prime　Minister。　On　the　march　Sima　Shi　had　heard　that　the　Shu　army　had　been　beaten　back；　and　he　had　concluded　they　were　weak。　So　he　decided　to　meet　them　on　the　road　and　give　battle。　Near　the　Yangping　Pass；　however；　the　roads　had　been　lined　with　troops　armed　with　the　multiple　crossbows　designed　by　Zhuge　Liang。　Since　Zhuge　Liang's　death；　large　numbers　of　these　weapons　had　been　made；　and　the　bolts　from　them；　which　went　in　flights　of　ten；　were　poisoned。　Consequently　the　Wei　losses　were　very　heavy；　and　Sima　Shi　himself　barely　escaped　with　life。　However；　eventually　he　returned　to　Luoyang。

From　the　walls　of　Qushan；　the　Shu　general；　Gou　Ai；　watched　anxiously　for　the　expected　help。　As　it　came　not；　he　ultimately　surrendered。　And　Jiang　Wei；　with　a　loss　of　twenty　to　thirty　thousand　soldiers；　marched　back　into　Hanzhong。

In　the　third　year　of　Domestic　Calm　（AD　251）；　in　the　eighth　month；　Sima　Yi　fell　ill。　His　sickness　increased　rapidly；　and；　feeling　that　his　end　was　near；　he　called　his　two　sons　to　his　bedside　to　hear　his　last　words。

〃I　have　served　Wei　many　years　and　reached　the　highest　rank　possible　among　ministers。　People　have　suspected　me　of　ulterior　aims；　and　I　have　always　fel