At this moment, Sima Yi suddenly opened his eyes. His whole body was soaked in sweat, and he was breathing heavily.
He felt as if he had just escaped death.
It turns out that all of this was just his imagination.
At that moment, Zhuge Liang's zither string suddenly broke. Sima Yi, as if startled, immediately shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
Upon hearing this, his men, unaware of what had happened, turned around and fled in all directions.
Zhuge Liang also took the opportunity to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself how close he had come to success. Fortunately, he had pretended to be calm and had managed to deceive Sima Yi.
"Sir, why did Sima Yi retreat?" the attendant asked, puzzled.
"Sima Yi was a suspicious man by nature, and he thought I never took risks, that's one reason."
"Secondly, only with my presence can I pose the greatest threat to the State of Wei, and only then will Sima Yi be able to live."
The attendant nodded thoughtfully and said, "I see!"
Meanwhile, Sima Yi led his troops in a hurried retreat.
Throughout the journey, Sima Yi appeared worried, as he felt a sense of crisis looming over him.
This feeling made Sima Yi very uneasy.
Perhaps he was too hasty. Cao Ang had always been wary of him, as could be seen from the incident with Man Chong.
Upon returning to the military camp, Sima Zhao found Sima Yi and was utterly perplexed as to why his father had fled that day, finding it utterly shameful.
"Father, I really don't understand. Even if Zhuge Liang had an ambush, what do we have to fear from such a small, dilapidated city?"
"If we capture Zhuge Liang, it will be an immense achievement!" Sima Zhao's tone was filled with resentment. He truly couldn't understand why his father was so afraid of Zhuge Liang.
Sima Yi snorted coldly and cursed, "You idiot!"
After saying this, Sima Yi pointed to the door, and Sima Zhao carefully closed it.
Sima Yi then sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it all in one gulp.
Upon seeing this, Sima Zhao quickly handed him a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.
After Sima Yi wiped his mouth clean, he said to Sima Zhao, "My son, why is your mind always so simple?"
"If Zhuge Liang were to die, would you and I, father and son, ever have a chance to turn our lives around?"
Sima Yi's words stunned Sima Zhao. He stared at Sima Yi in disbelief, and after a long while, asked, "Father, what do you mean...?"
Sima Yi sighed and said, "It's not that I'm raising an enemy to enhance my own prestige, but rather it's a self-preservation strategy I had no other choice but to adopt!"
"As long as Zhuge Liang is alive, the Shu Kingdom will exist, and the Sima family will exist!"
After saying this, Sima Yi patted Sima Zhao on the shoulder and said, "I'm tired, you should go back now!"
Sima Zhao was silent for a moment, then said, "Yes!"
After saying this, Sima Zhao respectfully left Sima Yi's room.
After Sima Zhao left, Sima Yi's gaze gradually turned icy, and he murmured, "Kongming, if we weren't enemies, we might have become friends."
At that moment, Sima Yi knew that Zhuge Liang understood his situation.
The reason Zhuge Liang stayed behind alone was to tell Sima Yi this.
After all, the ruler of Shu only listened to Zhuge Liang, but Sima Yi was different. If Zhuge Liang died, Shu would have no one left who could resist Wei, and Sima Yi's life would come to an end.
Sima Yi managed to hold his ground in this battle.
Although Hanzhong was lost, it was Cao Zhen who lost it.
It had nothing to do with Sima Yi; on the contrary, it was Sima Yi who resisted Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions.
Upon returning to Xuchang, Cao Ang was overjoyed and specially hosted a banquet for Sima Yi.
During the banquet, Cao Ang also praised Sima Yi highly, calling him a rare military genius.
Of course, despite the praise, Cao Ang still took away Sima Yi's tiger tally after the banquet.
Sima Yi knew that Cao Ang had never truly trusted him; he was more of a tool to exploit him.
Sima Yi took a few deep breaths, suppressing his anger, and smiled, "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave."
"Alright, take care, my dear minister!" Cao Ang said with a smile.
Sima Yi cupped his hands in greeting and slowly withdrew from the palace.
After the Shu army's failed northern expedition, Zhuge Liang did not return to Yizhou immediately, but secretly went to Yunmeng Mountain to meet Lu Li.
"gentlemen!"
When Zhuge Liang met Lu Li, he performed the teacher's salute.
Lu Li saw Zhuge Liang's temples, which were somewhat gray, and couldn't help but feel a little sad.
When they first met, Zhuge Liang was still a spirited young man.
But now, he has grown old.
Lu Li waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities, let's sit down and talk!"
"Thank you, sir!" Zhuge Liang sat down at the stone table as instructed.
Lu Li poured Zhuge Liang a cup of water and said, "I've heard about the Northern Expedition. You've worked hard these past few days!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head slightly and said, "Sir, I don't understand why I lost?"
In this Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang had already used all his skills.
Zhang Liao defeated Sun Quan's 200,000 troops with only 800 men, freeing Sun Quan from any worries about his rear.
But he still failed, defeated by the lack of supplies!
"Our grain transport was extremely secretive. How did Sima Yi find out about it?" Zhuge Liang's expression was solemn. This was something he couldn't understand either.
Sima Yi's scouts were indeed formidable, but surely they wouldn't be able to know even the transportation of his own supplies.
Not to mention, they also intercepted and killed them in advance with perfect accuracy, blocking their grain transport.
Lu Li sighed and said, "Sima Yi's Yin-Yang School members can deduce the secrets of heaven."
"What?" Zhuge Liang's face showed great surprise. "They can actually deduce the secrets of heaven?"
“Not bad!” Lu Li nodded.
Zhuge Liang frowned even more deeply. He had heard of the Yin-Yang School, but had never seen it, and thought it was just a group of charlatans.
However, the practice of using Yin-Yang techniques to deduce heavenly secrets does exist, but he does not believe in it.
Unexpectedly, the Yin-Yang School was actually able to deduce the secrets of heaven.
"Sir, does Heaven truly favor Cao Cao over Liu Bei?" Zhuge Liang suddenly asked, his eyes filled with confusion.
Lu Li sighed softly and said, "Sima Yi is a rare military genius. In Wei, he will become your lifelong rival!"
Zhuge Liang looked dejected; this time, he had truly failed.
Sima Yi is the biggest stumbling block.
Lu Li continued, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
Zhuge Liang's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked at Lu Li with surprise and said, "Sir, are you willing to lend me a hand?"
Lu Li nodded and said, "The reason for this defeat is that you underestimated Sima Yi and even more so the Wei Kingdom!"
Zhuge Liang immediately scratched his head in embarrassment.
He knew he had lost the battle, but he still felt a sense of resentment.
Lu Li shook his head and said, "This is not your fault. You were just blinded by your own pride."
Sima Yi was leading troops for the first time, and Zhuge Liang was not yet familiar with his tactics.
"How can you help me, sir?"
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