【英语文化】初中英语传统文化阅读46:Empty City Trick空城计

Zhuge Liang’s Empty City Trick（空城计）

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang was a famously wise and resourceful strategist. One day, Cao Cao got secret information that Zhuge Liang had only 10,000 soldiers guarding Xicheng city. To seize the good chance, he sent General Sima Yi to lead more than 100,000 well-trained troops to attack the city.

At that moment, most of Zhuge Liang’s soldiers had been sent away to carry food supplies far away. Only 2,000 soldiers stayed in the city with him. Facing such a huge gap in military strength, Xicheng was almost defenseless. Ordinary people would have panicked and fled, but Zhuge Liang kept his cool and came up with a brilliant plan.

First of all, he ordered all the villagers in the city to hide indoors to avoid danger. Then he gave strict orders to his remaining soldiers: take down all military flags, open every city gate wide, and dress up as ordinary farmers to sweep the streets casually. Everything looked peaceful and normal, without any sign of defense.

After arranging everything properly, Zhuge Liang walked calmly to the city tower with two young assistants. He sat down steadily and played the guqin softly and calmly, showing no fear at all.

Soon, Sima Yi’s massive army arrived outside Xicheng. Sima Yi was greatly confused when he saw the unusual scene. The gates were wide open, no guards were standing by, and the whole city looked extremely relaxed. He could not help wondering why Zhuge Liang was so relaxed in such a dangerous situation.

At first, the guqin music was gentle and soft. Gradually, it grew sharp and powerful, sounding like a hidden warning. Sima Yi knew very well that Zhuge Liang was always careful and prudent in battles and never took risks easily. He firmly believed that this peaceful scene must be a deadly trap, and Zhuge Liang was hiding a large army inside the city to ambush them.

Sima Yi’s son thought it might just be a bluff and wanted to lead soldiers to attack. However, Sima Yi shook his head firmly. He thought Zhuge Liang’s unusual courage was very suspicious. He was afraid of falling into the trap, so he gave the order to retreat at once.

The whole army turned around and fled quickly. Standing on the tower, Zhuge Liang watched the retreating army and laughed with relief. With no soldiers fighting and no blood shed, he successfully protected Xicheng purely by his wisdom and bold strategy. This classic Empty City Trick has been passed down for thousands of years and shows Zhuge Liang’s extraordinary wisdom and courage.

三国时期，诸葛亮是一位足智多谋、善于用兵的顶级谋士。一日，曹操打探到消息，西城之内仅有一万名蜀军驻守。于是他抓住战机，派遣司马懿率领十万精锐大军前往攻城。

彼时，诸葛亮的大部分士兵都被外派远赴粮草，城中仅剩余两千士兵留守。敌我兵力悬殊，西城几乎毫无防御之力。换作常人早已惊慌逃窜，但诸葛亮沉着冷静，心生妙计。

他先下令城中百姓尽数躲藏，避免受到战乱波及。随后命令剩余士兵收起所有军旗、大开四面城门，并让士兵假扮农夫，悠然清扫街道，整座城池看似安然无事，毫无备战迹象。

布置妥当后，诸葛亮携两名小童从容登上城楼，端坐抚琴，神色淡然、镇定自若，没有丝毫慌乱。

不久，司马懿的大军兵临城下。看到眼前反常的景象，司马懿满心疑惑：城门大开、无人守卫，整座城池松弛安逸，完全不像备战的样子。他十分不解，为何身处绝境的诸葛亮会如此从容淡定。

起初，琴声轻柔舒缓，渐渐变得凌厉铿锵，隐隐透着警示之意。司马懿深知诸葛亮用兵向来谨慎稳妥、从不冒险，断定眼前的平静必然是陷阱，城内一定埋伏着重兵，等候魏军入城伏击。

司马懿的儿子认为这只是虚张声势，想要率军攻城试探。但司马懿果断摇头，他深知诸葛亮此番反常的胆识十分可疑，绝对暗藏杀机，于是当即下令全军撤退。

大军即刻掉头、仓皇撤离。诸葛亮立于城楼，看着远去的敌军，释然大笑。未动一兵一卒、未费一弓一箭，仅凭过人的智慧与胆识，便保全了西城。这千古流传的空城计，尽显诸葛亮超凡的智谋与魄力。

重点词汇与核心短语（中考高频）

核心单词

1. troop /truːp/ n. 军队，士兵

2. defenseless /dɪˈfensləs/ adj. 毫无防备的

3. confuse /kənˈfjuːz/ v. 使困惑，疑惑

4. relaxed /rɪˈlækst/ adj. 放松的，从容的

5. gradually /ˈɡrædʒuəli/ adv. 逐渐地

6. sharp /ʃɑːp/ adj. 尖锐的，凌厉的

7. trap /træp/ n. 陷阱，圈套

8. suspicious /səˈspɪʃəs/ adj. 可疑的，起疑心的

9. retreat /rɪˈtriːt/ v. 撤退，后退

10. flee /fliː/ v. 逃离，撤退（过去式 fled）

必考固定短语&语法搭配

1. send sb. to do sth. 派遣某人做某事

2. carry food 运送粮草

3. take down flags 收起军旗

4. dress as farmers 假扮农夫

5. grow sharp 变得凌厉、尖锐

6. hide an army 埋伏军队

7. shake one’s head 摇头（表示否定）

8. turn and fled 转身撤离

9. empty city trick/stratagem 空城计

10. come up with a plan 想出计策

阅读理解

1. Why did Cao Cao decide to attack Xicheng?

2. How many soldiers stayed in Xicheng with Zhuge Liang?

3. What did Zhuge Liang ask his soldiers and villagers to do?

4. Why did Sima Yi think the peaceful city was a trap?

5. What was the final result of Zhuge Liang’s Empty City Trick?

参考答案

1. Because he learned that Zhuge Liang only had a small number of soldiers to guard Xicheng, so he sent Sima Yi to attack the city.

2. Only 2,000 soldiers stayed in the city with him.

3. He asked villagers to hide indoors, ordered soldiers to take down flags, open all gates, dress as farmers and sweep the streets, while he played the guqin calmly on the tower.

4. Because Zhuge Liang was always careful and prudent. The unusually relaxed scene and the gradually sharp music made him suspicious of an ambush.

5. Sima Yi thought it was a trap and ordered his army to retreat. Zhuge Liang saved Xicheng successfully without any fighting.

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