Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  Outraged by this treatment of Xuande's former teacher, Zhang Fei moved to cut down the guard and rescue the prisoner. But Xuande checked him. "The court will see to it that justice is done" he said. "Better not art rashly." They let the escort pass. "With Lu Zhi arrested and replaced," said Lord Guan, "we have nowhere to go but back to Zhuo district." Xuande agreed and began marching north. But on the next day they heard a great tumult beyond a hill. Xuande and his brothers climbed to high ground. A beaten Han army came into their view. Behind it, hill and dale swarmed with Yellow Scarves bearing banners that read "Heavenly Commander." "Zhang Jue himself!" cried Xuande. "Let's attack at once."32

  The three brothers swung their men into fighting position just as Zhang Jue was beating down the forces of Dong Zhuo, Lu Zhi's replacement as Imperial Corps commander. Carried by their momentum, the rebels drove hard until they ran up against the brothers. A murderous clash followed. Jue's men were thrown into confusion and had to retreat more than fifty li. The brothers rescued Dong Zhuo and saw him back to his camp. Zhuo inquired what offices they held but, upon learning that they were commoners without position, disdainfully refused to acknowledge their service.33 The three started to leave the camp with Zhang Fei grumbling, "Is that how the wretch treats us for risking our lives to save him? Then I'll have another kind of satisfaction!" Bent on revenge, Zhang Fei turned and stamped back toward Dong Zhuo's headquarters, a sword in his hand. It was a case where, indeed:

  Status is what counts and always has!

  Who needs to honor heroes without rank?

  Oh, let me have a Zhang Fei straight and true,

  Who'll pay out every ingrate what he's due.

  Did Zhang Fei kill the Imperial Corps commander?

  Read on.

  2

  Zhang Fei Whips the Government Inspector;

  Imperial In-Law He Jin Plots Against the Eunuchs

  Governor of Hedong Dong Zhuo (styled Zhongying), a native of Lintao in Longxi in the far northwest, was a man to whom arrogance came naturally. His rude treatment of Xuande had provoked Zhang Fei to turn back and seek satisfaction, but Xuande and Lord Guan warned their brother, "He holds the court's mandate. You cannot take the law into your own hands." "If we don't do away with the wretch," Fei retorted, "we'll be taking orders from him—the last thing I could stand. You two stay if you like. I'm leaving." "We three, sworn to live and die as one," said Xuande, "must not part. We'll go elsewhere." "We're all going, then?" responded Zhang Fei. "That's some consolation."

  Riding all night, the three warriors reached the camp of Zhu Jun, the Imperial Corps commander, who welcomed them heartily and united their forces with his own. Together they advanced against the second rebel brother, Zhang Bao. (The third brother, Zhang Liang, was battling Cao Cao and Huangfu Song at Quyang at the time.) Zhang Bao had command of eighty or ninety thousand troops camped behind a mountain. Zhu Jun sent Xuande forward, and Zhang Bao dispatched his lieutenant Gao Sheng to taunt the government forces. Xuande waved Zhang Fei into combat, and he charged and ran Gao Sheng through after a few brief clashes. Sheng toppled from his horse as Xuande signaled his men to advance.

  Zhang Bao, on horseback, unbound his hair and, sword in hand, began to work a magic formula. As throngs of Xuande's soldiers charged, a thunderstorm started to gather, and a black mist surrounded what seemed like an army of warriors in the sky. When the apparition plunged toward them, the men were thrown into confusion. Xuande hurried back to camp to report the defeat. "They were using shamanic tricks," said Zhu Jun. "Tomorrow we will slaughter a pig, a goat, and a dog and throw down on the rebels a mixture of the animals' blood, entrails, and excrement."1 Xuande placed Lord Guan and Zhang Fei, each with a thousand men, in ambush high on a slope of the hill, ready to hurl down the abominable preparation when Zhang Bao's troops passed.

  The next day, with banners waving and drums rolling, Zhang Bao arrived in force. Xuande rode out to face him. As the soldiers prepared to engage in battle, Bao used his powers and a storm sprang up as before. Sand and stones went flying, and a murky mist packed with men and horses began to descend from the sky. Xuande wheeled and fled, drawing Bao in pursuit past the hill. At the given signal Lord Guan and Zhang Fei dumped their concoction over the enemy. In front of everyone's eyes, the storm died away, and the mist dissolved as paper men and straw horses tumbled from the sky every which way. Sand and stone lay still. Seeing his craft undone, Bao retreated quickly, but Lord Guan came forth on his left and Zhang Fei on his right, while Xuande and Zhu Jun raced up behind. Between these converging forces the rebels were crushed.

  Xuande spotted Bao's "General of the Earth"2 banner some distance away and gave chase. Bao rode frantically for the brush, but Xuande shot an arrow through his left arm. The wounded rebel sought shelter in the city of Yang, to which Zhu Jun at once lay siege. Zhu Jun also sent for news of Huangfu Song's battle with Zhang Bao's brother, Liang, and received the following message:

  Huangfu Song won a great victory, and the court used him to replace the oft-defeated Dong Zhuo. Song arrived to find the chief rebel, Jue, dead, and Liang, who had taken over his command, locked in battle with our units. Song won seven battles in sucession; he killed Liang at Quyang. Then they opened up Jue's coffin, mutilated the corpse and impaled his head, which they later sent to the capital. The surviving rebels gave themselves up, and the court rewarded Song with the title of general of Chariots and Cavalry and appointed him protector of Jizhou.3 Song then petitioned the Emperor, stating that Lu Zhi's conduct was meritorious, not blameworthy, and the court restored his former office. Cao Cao's service, too, was recognized, and he was awarded a fief at Jinan. When I left, they were about to return to the capital in triumph before assuming their new posts.

  This was heartening news to Zhu Jun, and he pressed the siege harder. The rebels' position became critical. Finally, Zhang Bao was slain by Yan Zheng, one of his own commanders, who then surrendered with his leader's head. The battle won, Zhu Jun pacified several neighboring districts and reported to the throne.

  Meanwhile, three other rebel leaders—Zhao Hong, Han Zhong, and Sun Zhong—had gathered tens of thousands of followers to avenge their fallen master, Zhang Jue, by new acts of plunder and destruction. The court summoned Zhu Jun to punish them with his victorious units. Bearing the imperial command, Zhu Jun advanced on the rebel-held city of Wancheng. Zhao Hong sent Han Zhong to engage Zhu Jun's army. Zhu Jun ordered Xuande and his brothers to attack the southwest corner of the city wall. Han Zhong rushed to its defense with seasoned troops. Zhu Jun personally led two thousand hardened cavalrymen directly to the northeast corner. Fearful of losing the city, the rebels quickly withdrew from their southwest position. Xuande beset their rear, and the horde, badly defeated, fled into the city. Zhu Jun responded by dividing his force and surrounding Wancheng. The city was short of food, and Han Zhong offered to surrender. But Zhu Jun refused his offer.

  Xuande argued for accepting: "Gao Zu, founder of the Han, won the empire because he knew how to invite surrender and how to receive it. Why refuse their offer, my lord?"

  That was then, "Zhu Jun replied." Now is now. Before Han, the empire was convulsed with uprisings against Qin, and there was no established sovereign for the people to acknowledge. To welcome submission and reward allegiance was no doubt the way to attract adherents. But this land of ours enjoys unity today. It is only the Yellow Scarves who have resorted to arms. If we accept their surrender, how will we encourage loyal and decent men? If we allow those who pillage at will when they win to give themselves up when they lose, we give an incentive to subversion. A rather poor idea, I'd say. "

  "You are right," Xuande conceded, "to deny an appeal from these criminals. And yet, trapped like this in an iron grip, they can only fight to the last. A myriad single-minded men cannot be withstood, let alone desperadoes several times that number. We could pull back from the southeast and concentrate on the northwest. The rebels will flee the city; and having lost their taste for combat, they can be quickly captur
ed." Zhu Jun acted on Xuande's suggestion, and the rebel Han Zhong, as expected, led his soldiers in headlong flight from Wancheng. Zhu Jun, joined by Xuande and his two brothers, attacked them in full force. Han Zhong was killed with an arrow shot. The survivors scattered. But as the government forces were mopping up, the battle took another turn. Zhao Hong and Sun Zhong arrived and engaged Jun, who retreated before this unexpected show of strength. The Yellow Scarves retook Wancheng.

  Zhu Jun removed ten li and was preparing to counterattack when he saw a mass of soldiers coming from the east. At their head was a man of broad forehead and wide face, with a body powerful as a tiger's and a torso thick as a bear's. This man from Fuchun in the imperial district of Wu was surnamed Sun.4 His given name was Jian; his style Wen-tai; he was descended from the famous strategist Sunzi.

  Years before, when Sun Jian was seventeen, he and his father watched a dozen pirates seize a merchant's goods and divide the spoils on the shore of the Qiantang River. Jian said to his father, "Let's take them prisoner." Sword bared, Jian leaped ashore and confronted the thieves, gesturing left and right as if signaling his followers. Fooled into thinking government troops were nearby, the thieves left their loot and fled, except for one whom Jian killed. This is how he made a name for himself in the region and was recommended for the post of commandant.

  Some time after Sun Jian's appointment, one Xu Chang of Kuaiji revolted, titling himself the Sun Emperor and mobilizing tens of thousands of men. Jian and a district commanding officer recruited a thousand fighters and rallied the province's districts. Together they destroyed the rebels and killed Xu Chang and his son Shao. The imperial inspector of the province, Zang Min, reported Sun Jian's achievements to the Emperor, and Jian was promoted to deputy magistrate of Yandu, Xuyi, and Xiapi.

  In response to the risings of the Yellow Scarves, Sun Jian gathered young men from his village, as well as many traders and experienced soldiers from the area of the Huai and Si rivers—some fifteen hundred in all—and went to aid the embattled Zhu Jun at Wancheng. Thus reinforced, Zhu Jun ordered Jian to attack the south gate and Xuande to attack the north. Zhu Jun himself lay siege on the west, giving the rebels a way out only on the east. Sun Jian was the first to gain the city wall, where he cut down twenty men and threw the rebels into confusion. Zhao Hong brandished his lance and made for Sun Jian, but Jian flung himself on his attacker, wrested away the lance, and ran him through. Then, taking Hong's horse, he charged the swarming rebels and slew many. Sun Zhong and his rebel force tried to break through the north gate, only to encounter Xuande, before whom Zhong fled in panic. Xuande felled him with a single arrow. Zhu Jun's main force then set upon the rebels from behind. Tens of thousands were beheaded, and untold numbers gave themselves up. Throughout the Nanyang area more than ten imperial districts were pacified.

  Zhu Jun returned in triumph to the capital, where he was raised to the rank of general of Chariots and Cavalry and appointed governor of Henan. As governor, he reported to the throne the merits of Sun Jian and Xuande. Profiting from his connections,5 Jian obtained a post as an auxiliary district commanding officer and went at once to assume his new office. Only Xuande was left waiting many days, receiving no word of an appointment.

  Disheartened, the three brothers were walking in the capital when they came upon the carriage of the courtier Zhang Jun. Xuande presented himself and gave a brief account of his victories. Zhang Jun was surprised that the court had neglected such a man, and at his next audience with the Emperor said, "Sale of office and rank by the Ten Eunuchs is the fundamental cause of the recent uprisings. They have appointed only their own and punished only their enemies, and have thrown the realm into chaos in the process. For peace to prevail, it would behoove Your Majesty to execute the Ten, hang their severed heads outside the south gate of the capital, and proclaim to all the empire that hereafter merit will be well rewarded." The eunuchs counterattacked, accusing Zhang Jun of lese majesty. The Emperor resolved the dispute by ordering his guards to expel Zhang Jun from court.

  The eunuchs continued discussing the matter: "This complaint," they agreed, "must have come from some deserving warriors who were passed over. It might be useful to have the central office review some of the lesser ones for appointment. We will have time enough to deal with them afterwards."6 And so Xuande was appointed judicial officer of Anxi county in the Zhongshan jurisdiction of Dingzhou imperial district, with orders to depart on a specified date. Xuande disbanded his troops and set out with his brothers and some two dozen followers. In Anxi he avoided all injury to the interests of the local people, and civic morality improved within a month. While in office Xuande shared bed and board with his brothers, and they stood beside him throughout long public sessions.

  In a few months' time, however, the court decreed a purge of leading officials whose posts had been awarded in recognition of military service, a measure Xuande suspected would lead to his removal. Just then a district inspector came to Anxi, one of the counties under his jurisdiction. Xuande received the official outside the city with full honors. But the inspector remained mounted, reciprocating Xuande's salutation with a faint flick of his whip. Zhang Fei and Lord Guan seethed with resentment. At the posthouse the inspector seated himself upon a raised platform and faced south like an emperor holding court, while Xuande stood respectfully at the foot of the platform. After an extended wait the official spoke: "Tell me about your background, Officer Liu." "I am a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan," replied Xuande. "I began campaigning against the Yellow Scarves in Zhuo county and have destroyed many of them, achieving some slight merit in over thirty engagements, some small, some large. As a result, I was appointed to this post."

  "Isn't your claim of imperial ancestry a lie?" roared the inspector. "Like those phony reports of your 'achievements'? I have here in hand the court's decree purging such undeserving officials and corrupt officers as you." Xuande could only back away, humbly voicing his agreement. "Yes, sir. Yes, sir," he said and returned to the yamen to consult with another officer. "The inspector is creating a scene," the latter suggested, "only because he wants a bribe." "But I have never taken advantage of the people here," Xuande argued, "and have acquired nothing of value to give him." The following day the inspector sent for this county officer and pressured him into accusing Officer Liu of abusing the people. Every time Xuande tried to see the inspector to justify himself, guards turned him away.

  After comforting himself with a few cups of wine, Zhang Fei rode by the posthouse. At the door he saw dozens of elderly folk weeping and wailing. When Zhang Fei asked the reason, they said, "The inspector is forcing the county officer to make statements that will enable him to get rid of our Lord Liu. We have come to plead for him but cannot get inside. The guards beat us back for our pains."

  Zhang Fei's eyes widened with anger. Jaw set, he slid from his saddle and went straight to the posthouse, broke through the guard, and dashed to the rear. He saw the inspector holding formal session and the county officer, bound, on the ground. "Plague to the people," thundered Zhang Fei, "do you know me?" Before the inspector could open his mouth, Zhang Fei had him by the hair, dragged him to the front of the posthouse, and tied him to the hitching post. Then with some light switches stripped from a nearby willow, he whipped the inspector across the legs so soundly that a dozen of the switches split.

  Xuande, having been kept from the inspector's presence, could not tell what was going on. Then he heard the commotion outside the posthouse and was told, "Commander Zhang Fei is beating the life out of somebody there." Xuande found out who the victim was and, aghast, demanded an explanation of Zhang Fei. "This enemy of the people should be beaten to death," his brother said, "and the sooner the better." But the inspector pleaded, "Let me live, my good lord," and Xuande, a kindhearted sort when all was said and done, shouted to Zhang Fei to desist.

  At this moment Lord Guan turned up. "Brother," he said, "your great service has been ill rewarded with this miserable post. Add to that this inspector's
insults. Does a phoenix belong in a briar patch? Let's kill him, resign the office, and go home to plan for a better day." At these words Xuande took his seal and ribbon of office and hung them on the inspector's neck, saying, "For the harm you've caused the people we should have your life. However, we shall spare you. You may take these back, and I shall take my leave."7

  The inspector returned to Dingzhou and reported the incident to the governor, who in turn notified higher central and regional authorities in order to have the brothers arrested. But the wanted men found refuge in Daizhou with Liu Hui, who hid them in his home in consideration of Xuande's imperial lineage.

  Meanwhile, at the court the Ten Eunuchs were using their great power to do away with anyone who went against them. Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang demanded payment of gold and silk from all who had won distinction fighting the Yellow Scarves, and removed from office those who would not pay. In consequence, commanders Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were deprived of office. The Emperor added the rank of general of Chariots and Cavalry to Zhao Zhong's other honors and awarded lordships to Zhang Rang and twelve others.

  Administration worsened and the people grumbled. Ou Xing staged an uprising in Changsha. In Yuyang, Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun rebelled, Zhang Ju claiming to be emperor and Zhang Chun his marshal. The court was swamped with emergency appeals from every quarter of the land, but the Ten blithely filed them away and never informed the throne.