Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast. This is episode 142.

Last time, Jiang Wei marched north once again with visions of conquering the Kingdom of Wei. His first

battle went exceedingly well. He routed Wang Jing, the imperial protector of Yong province,

sending Wang Jing fleeing into the town of Didao. But as Jiang Wei prepared to advance,

one of his generals, Zhang Yi, suggested that they should quit while they were ahead.

As you can imagine, this did not sit well with Jiang Wei.

In the past, even when we have lost, we still aim to advance and march across the heartlands, he said.

Today, after our victory at the River Tao,

the enemy has lost their nerve.

In my estimation, the town of Didao is ours for the taking.

Stop discouraging yourself.

Zhang Yi tried time and again to advise against continuing the campaign,

but Jiang Wei refused to listen,

and instead marched on to Di Dao. Meanwhile, the other leader of the Wei defenses in the area,

the general Chen Tai, was just about to mobilize his troops to avenge Wang Jing's defeat

when he got a visitor. It was the general

Deng Ai, the imperial protector of Yan province. Deng Ai had arrived with reinforcement on the

orders of Sima Jiao. Chen Tai now asked Deng Ai if he had any ideas for how to repel the

Shu forces, and Deng Ai said,

After the enemy's victory at the River Tau, if they had called on the Qiang tribes and

contested the eastern part of the area, that would have spelled trouble for us. But right now,

that is not what they are thinking. Instead, they are going after di Dao.

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