In 228 AD, Zhuge Liang wrote to Liu Chan the "Table of Renunciation" to explain to Liu Chan the importance of the Northern Expedition, and after receiving Liu Chan's permission, Zhuge Liang tun troops in Hanzhong, in order to adjust the main army in the switch, Zhuge Liang let Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi out of the valley as suspected soldiers, Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui was really deceived, he immediately let Cao Zhen supervise the Guanlong area of the large army to block Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi, Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to go out of Qishan. Since Cao Wei was unprepared in advance, they saw Zhuge Liang leading the Shu Han army to come, and they all looked at the wind and surrendered, and for a time, three of the five counties of Longyou surrendered to Zhuge Liang. In order to capture the entire Long Right and then occupy the Yongliang region, Zhuge Liang planned to cut off the Long Right and capture the entire Long Right in a short period of time. To this end, Zhuge Liang asked Ma Mo to send troops to sit in the street pavilion to block the reinforcements of the Wei army. However, Ma Mo did not arrange according to Zhuge Liang's request, but came to an isolated mountain to settle down, so that Zhang Gao cut off the water source, and the Shu army was in chaos, and finally defeated by Zhang Gao. After the loss of the street pavilion, Zhuge Liang could only lead his army to retreat.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang retreats after losing the street pavilion, and Sima Yi takes the opportunity to lead an army of 150,000 to the western city where Zhuge Liang is located. At that time, the generals and soldiers around Zhuge Liang had all retreated, and at this time he had no generals in his hands, and half of the five thousand soldiers in his hands had gone to transport grain and grass, and only more than two thousand soldiers were in the city. When everyone heard that Sima Yi had led a large army to arrive, they were very panicked, but Zhuge Liang was calm and self-assured, he ordered the city gate to be opened, and let a few veterans clean outside the city, while he himself led two book boys to burn incense and play the piano in the city. At that time, Sima Yi's former army saw this situation and did not dare to rush into the city, after the news reached Sima Yi's ears, Sima Yi asked the three armies to stop advancing, and he personally went to the city to see, when he saw Zhuge Liang actually open the city gate, he decided that there must be an ambush in the city, under such circumstances, Sima Yi immediately ordered the whole army to retreat, and Zhuge Liang also relied on the empty city to turn the crisis into safety.
Some people believe that the reason why Sima Yi withdrew from the army was because Sima Yi clearly realized that his future was very much related to his life and Zhuge Liang. After all, Sima Yi's situation in the Cao Wei regime at that time was very delicate, and the high-ranking officials in the Cao Wei regime at that time had little trust in him, and the reason why he was still alive and leading a large army was mainly because Cao Wei needed him to resist Zhuge Liang, in such a situation, only Zhuge Liang fought fiercely, and Cao Wei had to reuse himself, Sima Yi could continue to hold the military power, in such a situation, Sima Yi naturally would not want Zhuge Liang to die, so this was not a soldier who was humiliated without a battle.
In fact, although Sima Yi was leading an army of 150,000 at that time, he only had the right to command the troops, and there was no grand strategic plan, and he could not ignore the danger in the direction of Liangzhou and lead all the reinforcements around the rear of the Shu army. Although Sima Yi was very knowledgeable and thought that his plan to lead a 150,000-strong army to attack Zhuge Liang's rear was feasible, after he learned that the street pavilion was also guarded by the Shu army, Sima Yi's heart was bottomless, although Ma Mo's loss of the street pavilion made Sima Yi's plan a step closer, but he still did not know whether Zhuge Liang still had a last move, after all, Ma Mo's defeat was also likely to be a trap deliberately set by Zhuge Liang, in order to attract Sima Yi's current 150,000 troops.
Although in the battle, the local commander was destined to be the first achievement, but Sima Yi understood that the greater the benefit, the higher the risk, although the street pavilion was lost, Zhuge Liang was in front of him, but in Sima Yi's judgment of Zhuge Liang, as long as Zhuge Liang could escape, he would definitely not appear in front of him and wait for him to catch it, and Sima Yi could not be sure whether there was an ambush by the Shu army in the city, nor could he determine whether his rear was cut off by Zhuge Liang, so he did not dare to rush into the city. It was precisely because of this uncertainty that Sima Yi decided to retreat to prevent the 150,000 troops from being swallowed up by Zhuge Liang.
The author believes that for Sima Yi, when facing an opponent of Zhuge Liang's level, he must be cautious, so he is willing to give up the huge temptation to capture Zhuge Liang and retreat, from this level, Zhuge Liang's empty city plan is indeed a soldier who surrenders without fighting.