Bluffing with Zither and Incense

Chapters 94-95

Finally, Kongming falters. But it’s not his fault; one of his generals failed him. If not for Kongming’s unusual bluff (sitting by a turret, burning incense, and playing his zither, p. 1737), he would have likely been defeated and captured by Sima Yi.

But I’m getting ahead of myself; in the first of this week’s two chapters, Kongming defeats the Qiang and their war chariots. It’s closer than it could have been. The ghost of Lord Guan appears to rescue his son. But the defeat is so bad for the Wei that they decide they need to bring back Sima Yi. Along with him comes Zhang He. Up to now, Zhang He hasn’t been much of a threat. Now, it looks like his hour has finally arrived.