Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  Dong Zhuo went to take leave of his mother, a woman more than ninety years old. "Where are you going, son?" she asked. "I am going to accept the succession from the Han," he replied. "Shortly you will be made Queen Mother." "These few days," she said, "I have been feeling unsteady, and my heart won't quiet down. Could it be an ill omen?" "Mother," Dong Zhuo answered, "you are going to be Mother of the Realm. That's what these little premonitions mean." He took his leave. Before departing, he told Diaochan, "When I am emperor, you will be made Precious Consort." Diaochan, who realized he was falling into the trap, feigned great pleasure and expressed profound gratitude.

  Surrounded by his adherents, Dong Zhuo ascended his carriage and set out for Chang'an. He had traveled less than thirty li when a wheel broke. Dong Zhuo switched to horseback. After another ten li the horse began snorting wildly and snapped its reins. Dong Zhuo said to Li Su, "First the wheel, now the horse—what do these signs mean?" "Simply," Li Su answered smoothly, "that the preceptor will be replacing the Han, discarding the old for the new, and should soon be riding in the imperial carriage with its jewels and golden gear!" Dong Zhuo found this answer delightful and convincing.

  The next day the journey continued. A fierce storm sprang up, and a dark mist spread over the heavens. "What does this signify?" Dong Zhuo asked. "When you ascend the dragon throne," answered Li Su, "there will be red streaks of light through purple mists demonstrating the heavenly power of Your Majesty." Dong Zhuo's doubts were again satisfied by this interpretation.

  Dong Zhuo's carriage reached the capital gate. The assembly of officials welcomed him. Only Li Ru had absented himself for reasons of health. Dong Zhuo entered his official residence, followed by Lü Bu, who extended his congratulations. "I shall be ascending the imperial throne," Dong Zhuo said, "and you will become the head of all military forces." Lü Bu thanked his patron and spent the night outside his sleeping quarters. That night a dozen boys were singing in the outskirts of the city, and the wind carried their melancholy voices into the bed chamber:

  A thousand li of green, green grass

  Beyond the tenth day, one can't last.

  "What is the meaning of the rhyme?" asked Zhuo.6 "It only means," Li Su replied, "that the house of Liu will fall, and the house of Dong will rise."

  At dawn the following day Dong Zhuo arrayed his honor guard. As his sedan chair reached court, he was surprised to see a Taoist priest in a dark gown and white headdress, holding a long staff. Tied to the top was a strip of cloth about ten feet long with the word "mouth" written on either end.7 "What is this priest trying to say?" asked Dong Zhuo. "He is deranged," Li Su replied and had him chased away.

  Dong Zhuo went into the main court area. The assembled officials, splendid in their formal robes and caps, greeted him from the sides. Sword in hand, Li Su followed the carriage. They came to a side gate on the north. Only twenty of Dong Zhuo's charioteers were let through. Further ahead at the entrance to the main hall Dong Zhuo could see a group with drawn swords standing around Wang Yun. Perturbed, Dong Zhuo asked, "What is the meaning of these swords?" Li Su made no reply as he helped push the carriage straight on in.

  "The traitor is here!" shouted Wang Yun. "Where are my men?" On either side a hundred weapons appeared. Halberd and lance were thrust against Dong Zhuo, but his armor prevented injury. Then, wounded in the arm, he fell from the carriage. "Where is my son?" he screamed. Lü Bu stepped out from behind the carriage. "Here is the edict to punish the traitor!" he cried and cut Dong Zhuo's throat with his halberd. Li Su severed the head and held it aloft.8 Lü Bu produced the edict, shouting, "This is the Emperor's writ. Only the traitor Dong Zhuo is to answer for his crime."9 Officers and men hailed the Emperor. Dong Zhuo's fate moved someone to write these lines:

  Success would have placed him on the throne itself;

  Failing that, he meant to have an easy life of wealth.

  What he forgot is that the gods ordain a path so strict:

  His palace newly done, his enterprise lay wrecked.

  At once Lü Bu said, "Li Ru abetted Dong Zhuo in all his brutal crimes. Who will seize him?" Li Su volunteered to go. Suddenly there was a commotion at the gate. Li Ru's household servants had already tied him up and brought him in. Wang Yun ordered Li Ru executed in the marketplace. Dong Zhuo's corpse was displayed on the main thoroughfare. There was so much fat in his body that the guards lit a fire in his navel; as it burned, grease from the corpse ran over the ground. Passing commoners knocked Dong Zhuo's severed head with their fists and trampled his body. Wang Yun ordered Lü Bu, Huangfu Song, and Li Su to march fifty thousand men to the new palace complex at Mei and take custody of all property and residents.10

  Meanwhile the four generals Dong Zhuo left in charge of Mei—Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou—hearing that their master was dead and that Lü Bu was on his way, led their Flying Bears west to Liangzhou by rapid night marches. At Mei, Lü Bu first took Diaochan into his charge, while Huangfu Song freed the sons and daughters of the good Chang'an families. All members of Dong Zhuo's family, including his aged mother,11 were put to death. The heads of Dong Zhuo's brother Min and his nephew Huang were publicly displayed. The entire wealth of the new complex was confiscated: several hundred thousand taels of gold, millions of silver coins, fine sheer silks, pearls, precious implements, grain stores—a vast treasure.12 When the results were reported back to Wang Yun, he feasted the troops and held a grand celebration at the Office of the Secretariat.

  The festivities were interrupted by a report that someone had kneeled and wept beside Dong Zhuo's body. "Everyone cheered his execution. Who dares mourn?" Wang Yun said angrily and ordered the man arrested. Brought before the astonished officials was none other than Privy Counselor Cai Yong. Wang Yun denounced the offender: "For what reason do you, a subject of the Han, mourn a traitor whose death benefits the dynasty, instead of joining our celebration?" Cai Yong acknowledged his offense: "Despite my meagre abilities," he said, "I can tell right from wrong and would never honor Dong Zhuo instead of the Han. Yet I could not help shedding a tear out of gratitude for the favor he has shown me. I know I should not have done it. I only pray that if my face is branded and my feet cut off, I may nonetheless be permitted to continue my work on the history of the Han as a form of atonement. I seek no other mercy."13

  The court officials, who esteemed Cai Yong's ability, pleaded for him strenuously. Imperial Guardian Ma Midi also urged Wang Yun privately, "It would be a boon to let so unique a talent complete the history. Moreover, his filial devotion is widely respected. If you condemn him without due consideration, we may forfeit people's confidence." "Centuries ago," responded Wang Yun, "Emperor Wu spared Sima Qian and let him write his history, with the result that we have a slanderous account whose ill effects are felt to this day. At a time when our destiny is uncertain and court administration faltering, how can we permit a toady like Cai Yong to wield the pen by the side of a junior emperor? He will defame us."14 To these words the imperial guardian made no reply; but privately he told officials, "May Wang Yun leave no posterity. Able men of character are the mainstay of the ruling house, institutions its legal basis. Destroy the mainstay, discard the basis, and the Han cannot long endure." Wang Yun rejected Ma Midi's appeal and had Cai Yong taken to prison and strangled. The news moved many scholars to tears. Later, many held that Cai Yong was wrong to mourn Dong Zhuo but that Wang Yun went too far when he had him killed. A poet voiced these feelings:

  Power was Dong Zhuo's means to tyranny;

  And Cai Yong's death, his own ignominy.

  Kongming lay low in Longzhong and every hero weighed.15

  Would he waste his talents on a renegade?16

  The four generals Dong Zhuo left guarding Mei—Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou—had fled west to Shanxi; from there they sent to Chang'an a petition for clemency. "Those four abetted the tyranny of Dong Zhuo," Wang Yun said. "Our general amnesty will exclude them."17 Learning of this decision, Li Jue said, "We are denied. Let each man fend f
or himself." But their adviser, Jia Xu, recommended a different course: "If you abandon your armies and go it alone, a single constable will be enough to arrest you. Shouldn't we recruit local people, march back into Chang'an, and avenge Dong Zhuo? If we prevail, we can set the realm to rights in the name of the court. If we fail, we'll have time enough to escape."

  Li Jue approved this plan and spread rumors throughout Liangzhou to the effect that Wang Yun was plotting a massacre in this locality. When he had sufficiently terrified the population, he issued the call, "Why die for nothing? Follow me and rebel!" Many volunteered, and the four generals divided more than one hundred thousand men into four field armies and descended on the capital. On the way they met Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, Niu Fu, an Imperial Corps commander leading a force of five thousand. Niu Fu was thirsty for vengeance, and Li Jue put him in the vanguard. The four generals continued their advance.

  Wang Yun learned of the new invasion by Liangzhou troops and conferred with Lü Bu. "Have no fear, Minister," Lü Bu assured him, "of that contemptible pack of scoundrels." Lü Bu sent Li Su to engage the invaders. Li Su and Niu Fu clashed, and a period of bloodshed ensued. Niu Fu fell back in defeat, then rallied and counterattacked that night at the second watch. He caught Li Su by surprise and sacked his camp. Li Su's army fled in all directions, sustaining major losses. The defeat so enraged Lü Bu that he shrieked at Li Su, "You have ruined our fighting spirit!" and had him executed. Li Su's head was impaled at the entrance to the camp.

  The following day Lü Bu himself went forth to confront Niu Fu and overwhelmed him. That night the badly defeated Niu Fu said to his most trusted man, Hu Chi'er: "Lü Bu is more than a match for us. We might as well run off with some treasure and quit, taking a few lackeys along without letting Li Jue and the others know." Hu Chi'er concurred. The conspirators scooped up the spoils and quit camp, accompanied by three or four men. As they were preparing to cross a river, Hu Chi'er turned on Niu Fu and killed him. He stashed away the stolen treasure and presented Niu Fu's head to Lü Bu. Lü Bu soon learned the truth from the accomplices, however, and executed Hu Chi'er.18

  Lü Bu advanced and engaged Li Jue. Before Jue could organize his line, Lü Bu—spear couched, steed rearing—waved his soldiers on. From this frontal assault Li Jue fell back fifty li and camped by a hillside, where he conferred with his three partners. "Lü Bu is brave, to be sure," Li Jue said, "but not smart enough to pose any real problem. I will take a detachment to the mouth of the gorge and provoke him to fight. When he does, General Guo Si can harry his rear, using the reverse signaling tactics Peng Yue used to harass Chu,19 advancing at the gong and retreating at the drum. At the same time I want you two, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, to attack Chang'an directly with your two armies. A two-fronted assault like this will keep Lü Bu and Wang Yun from coming to each other's aid, and we can defeat them." All agreed with Li Jue's plan.

  Lü Bu's army halted near the hillside camp. Li Jue emerged to draw him into combat. Lü Bu's temper took control and he charged headlong. Li Jue retreated up the hill, blocking pursuit with a shower of boulders and arrows. Suddenly Guo Si attacked Lü Bu from the rear, forcing him to turn around. Lü Bu attempted to come to grips with Guo Si's force, but Guo Si also retreated when the drum sounded. Lü Bu was preparing to draw back, when gongs rang out on the other end, and Li Jue resumed the offensive. As Lü Bu turned to meet this new threat, Guo Si struck again and withdrew immediately.

  For several days the two generals worked Lü Bu's army back and forth until he was too exasperated to fight or rest. To add to Lü Bu's great vexation, word came that the other two enemy generals, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, had advanced on the capital and that its fall was imminent. Frantically, Lü Bu wheeled his army round toward Chang'an as Li Jue and Guo Si together savaged his rear ranks. Rushing to the capital, Lü Bu abandoned the struggle; he had suffered heavy loses. At Chang'an he found a living sea of warriors surrounding the walls and moat. With defeat following defeat, many of his men, dreading his tyrannical temper, deserted. Lü Bu sank into despair.

  Several days later two adherents of Dong Zhuo's who had remained in the capital, Li Meng and Wang Fang, stealthily opened the city gates to the invaders, who poured in from all directions. Lü Bu fought hard but could not hold them off. He led several hundred horsemen to the palace gate. "It's all over," he called to Wang Yun. "Ride with me. We'll find a better way out." But Wang Yun refused, saying, "If the spirits dwelling in the sacred shrines of Han favor me, I will restore peace for the ruling family. If I fail, I die. But I cannot steal away in the heat of the crisis. Give this message to the lords beyond the pass: 'Strive to keep the Han foremost in your thoughts.'" Lü Bu could not change Wang Yun's mind. The city gates were on fire. Leaving his own family behind, Lu Bu dashed away with one hundred horsemen to seek refuge with Yuan Shu.

  Li Jue and Guo Si let their soldiers plunder Chang'an at will. Minister of Ritual Chong Fu, Court Steward Lu Kui, Minister of Protocol Zhou Huan, Commandant of the Capital Gates Cui Lie, and Commandant of the Exemplary Cavalry Wang Qi all perished in the fighting. The rebels drew a tight ring around the court, and the courtiers pleaded with the Emperor to appear above the Declaring Peace Gate and calm the tumult. The Emperor came forth. When Li Jue and the others saw the yellow canopy sheltering the imperial person, they instantly called on their armies to desist and cried out, " Long live the

  Emperor! "Emperor Xian, speaking from the gate tower, demanded," Why have you generals entered the capital without my permission? "Li Jue and Guo Si raised their faces toward their sovereign and appealed to him:" Imperial Preceptor Dong Zhuo, the guardian of your royal shrines, was wrongly slain by Wang Yun. We have come to avenge him and have no disloyal thoughts. We will withdraw once we have seen the murderer. "

  Wang Yun, standing beside the Emperor, heard the accusation. "I acted only for the sake of the royal shrines," he said to the Emperor. "Under present conditions Your Majesty must think only of the safety of the imperial house. Permit me to go down to see the two traitors." The Emperor hesitated, but Wang Yun leaped to the ground and shouted, "Here stands Wang Yun!" Li Jue and Guo Si drew their swords and denounced him: "For what crime did the imperial preceptor deserve to die?" "Dong Zhuo's unspeakable crimes," Wang Yun responded, "filled Heaven and earth. On the day of his execution all Chang'an rejoiced, though you may not know it." "Even so," replied the two generals, "what was our crime that you excluded us from the amnesty?" In response Wang Yun swore: "Hold your tongues, treasonous villains! Wang Yun has come to die and that is all." The two outlaws cut him down in front of the gate tower. A historian has left this remembrance:

  Wang Yun spun an artful scheme

  That ended Dong Zhuo's evil dream.

  His heart ached for the ruling line,

  His brow was knitted for its shrine.

  His noble spirit reached the skies,

  His heart has joined the guiding stars.

  Down below his souls remain

  And haunt the Phoenix Pavilion.

  The rebels put Wang Yun's entire clan to the sword. The people of the city mourned. In fact, Li Jue and Guo Si had further ambitions. "Now that we are here, what better opportunity will we have to kill the Emperor and create a new dynasty?" they shouted. Swords bared, they charged into the palace. Indeed:

  The execution of Dong Zhuo had barely eased the crisis,

  When rebels running amok brought fresh woes.

  The life of the Emperor was now at stake.

  Read on.

  10

  Ma Teng Takes Up Arms to Save the Throne;

  Cao Cao Musters an Army to Avenge His Father

  Li Jue and Guo Si would have taken the sovereign's life, but the other two generals, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, demurred: "The people will never accept the authority of regicides. Rather, uphold the Emperor and lure the lords of the realm into the region Chang'an controls. That way we can pare down the Emperor's support and prepare to take over at the proper time." On this counsel Li Jue and Guo Si refrained f
rom acting.

  The Emperor, meanwhile, speaking from the palace tower, issued a statement to those below: "Wang Yun has been executed. On what grounds have you not withdrawn your forces?" Li Jue and Guo Si responded, "Our service to the royal house has not yet been requited by titles from Your Majesty. That is what we are waiting for." The Emperor said, "Which titles do you want?" Each of the four generals wrote on a piece of paper the offices and fiefs he required and submitted it to the Emperor; having no choice, he made the following awards:

  Li Jue, appointed general of Chariots and Cavalry and enfeoffed as lord of Chiyang; also named commandant of the Capital Districts and granted insignia and battle-axe confirming military authority

  Guo Si, appointed general of the Rear and lord of Meiyang and granted insignia and battle-axe; both generals to control court administration

  Fan Chou, appointed general of the Right and lord of Wannian

  Zhang Ji, appointed Flying Cavalry general and lord of Pingyan, with his garrison stationed at Hongnong