Sima Yi, although inwardly raging, pretended to take it all as a joke and smiled.
“So he regards me as a deer,” said he.
He accepted the gift and treated the messenger well. Before the messenger left, Sima Yi asked him a few questions about his master's eating and sleeping and hours of labor.
“The Prime Minister works very hard,” said the messenger. “He rises early and retires to bed late. He attends personally to all cases requiring punishment of over twenty of strokes. As for food, he does not eat more than a few pints of grain daily.”
“Indeed, he eats little and works much,” remarked Sima Yi. “Can he last long?”
The messenger returned to his own side and reported that Sima Yi had taken the whole episode in good part and shown no sign of anger. He had only asked about the Prime Minister's hours of rest, and food, and such things. He had said no word about military matters.
“I told him that you ate little and worked long hours, and then he said, 'Can he last long?' That was all.”
“He knows,” said Zhuge Liang, pensively.
First Secretary Yang Yong presently ventured to remonstrate with his chief.
“I notice,” said Yang Yong, “that you check the books personally. I think that is needless labor for a Prime Minister to undertake. In every administration the higher and subordinate ranks have their especial fields of activity, and each should confine his labors to his own field. In a household, for example, the male servants plow and the female servants cook, and thus operations are carried on without waste of energy, and all needs are supplied. The master of the house has ample leisure and tranquillity. If one individual strives to attend personally to every matter, he only wearies himself and fails to accomplish his end. How can he possibly hope to perform all the various tasks so well as the maids or the servants? He fails in his own part, that of playing the master. And, indeed, the ancients held this same opinion, for they said that the high officers should attend to the discussion of ways and means, and the lower should carry out details. Of old, Bing Ji was moved to deep thought by the panting of an ox, but inquired not about the corpses of certain brawlers which lay about the road, for this matter concerned the magistrate. Chen Ping was ignorant of the figures relating to taxes, for he said these were the concern of the controllers of taxes. O Minister, you weary yourself with minor details and sweat yourself every day. You are wearing yourself out, and Sima Yi has good reason for what he said.”
“I know; I cannot but know,” replied Zhuge Liang. “But this heavy responsibility was laid upon me, and I fear no other will be so devoted as I am.”
Those who heard him wept. Thereafter Zhuge Liang appeared more and more harassed, and military operations did not speed.
On the other side the officers of Wei resented bitterly the insult that had been put upon them when their leader had been presented with the deer hide dress.
They wished to avenge the taunt, and went to their general, saying, “We are reputable generals of the army of a great state; how can we put up with such insults from these soldiers of Shu? We pray you let us fight them.”
“It is not that I fear to go out,” said Sima Yi, “nor that I relish the insults, but I have the Emperor's command to hold on and may not disobey.”
The officers were not in the least appeased. Wherefore Sima Yi said, “I will send your request to the Throne in a memorial; what think you of that?”
They consented to await the Emperor's reply, and a messenger bore to the Ruler of Wei, in Hefei, this memorial:
