The next night, during the second watch, Lü Bu wrapped his daughter in cotton wadding, outfitted her in armor, and set her on his back. Weapon in hand, he mounted and slipped out of the city, attended by Gao Shun and Zhang Liao. They were headed toward Xuande's camps when the drums rolled: Lord Guan and Zhang Fei barred the way, shouting, "Halt!" Lü Bu had little heart for combat but wanted to force his way out; just then Xuande arrived ready for the kill. The two companies battled hotly. Lü Bu, though a warrior of boundless courage, would not rush the enemy lines lest the girl come to harm. But Xu Huang and Xu Chu were menacing him from the rear, and all around men were shouting, "Don't let Lü Bu get away." Finally he was forced back into Xiapi, and Xuande recalled his fighters. Xu Huang and the others returned to Cao Cao's camp. Not one of Lü Bu's men had succeeded in getting through Xuande's blockade. In despair Lü Bu drank heavily.
Cao Cao's offensive against Xiapi, after two months, had stalled. Besides, he had news requiring his return to the capital: "Governor of Henei, Zhang Yang, had wanted to send Lü Bu troops, but his lieutenant Yang Chou killed him. Yang Chou had wanted to present the governor's head to Your Excellency but was killed in turn by one of the governor's henchmen. Their relief force is now moving toward Quan city." Cao Cao sent Shi Huan to kill the henchmen. He then assembled his commanders and said, "Governor Zhang Yang is fortunately out of the way; but we still have Yuan Shao in the north to worry about, not to mention Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu. This siege has gone on too long without results. I want to call a truce and return to the capital. What do you say?"
Xun You was swift to oppose: "Lü Bu's fighting spirit is low after many defeats. An army is only as good as its leader: when the leader fails, the men flag. His adviser Chen Gong is shrewd enough but sluggish. Now—before Lü Bu's morale revives and before Gong can decide on a plan—strike and take him." "I have a plan for taking the city," Guo Jia added, "a plan far more effective than an army of two hundred thousand." "Don't tell me," Xun Wenruo broke in, "that you want to divert water from the rivers Yi and Si into the city?" "Exactly," replied Guo Jia. Cao Cao was delighted and ordered his men to carry out the project.
Cao Cao's army watched from high ground as the waters flooded Xiapi. Only the area near the east gate remained dry. Soldiers raced to Lü Bu with the news. "I have a champion horse," Lü Bu said, "that crosses water as if it were land, flat and dry. We have nothing to fear." Joined by his wives, Lü Bu went on sating himself with choice wines. His face grew wasted from his excesses. Once he stared into the mirror and exclaimed, "How wine and lust have ruined me! Starting today I shall ban them." Lü Bu sent an order around the city that anyone caught drinking would be executed.
The prohibition was broken by Hou Cheng, one of Lü Bu's top generals. The general's stableman had stolen fifteen horses, meaning to deliver them to Xuande. Hou Cheng pursued and killed the thief and brought back the horses. When his commanders came to congratulate him, Hou Cheng fermented five or six vats of wine to celebrate the recovery of the horses. At the same time, lest Lü Bu take the celebration amiss, Hou Cheng took five jars to Lü Bu's residence, saying, "It was thanks to your awesome prestige that we recovered our horses. All the commanders are celebrating, and we have brewed this wine, which we offer first to you for your permission to drink." But Lü Bu retorted, "You brew wine for a party on the heels of my ban? You must be planning to attack me!" He ordered Hou Cheng removed and executed. Song Xian and Wei Xu pleaded for him, but Lü Bu said, "Purposeful violation of my order will be met with the most severe penalty. However, in consideration of the commanders, I will let him go with one hundred lashes." The appeals continued, and so Lü Bu dismissed Hou Cheng with fifty cuts. The commanders were deeply disheartened.
Song Xian and Wei Xu comforted Hou Cheng, who said tearfully, "You saved my life." "Lü Bu loves only his family," Xian said. "We are chaff to him," added Wei Xu. "The city is besieged; the towers are flooded round—we are done for." "He has no humanity, no honor. Why not leave him to his fate?" suggested Xian. "That's not a hero's part," replied Wei Xu. "Let's deliver him to Cao Cao instead." At this point Hou Cheng spoke up: "I suffered for recapturing the horses, yet it is Red Hare that he depends on. If you two seize Lü Bu and deliver the city, I will steal his horse and present it to Cao Cao myself." Thus the three men set their course.
That night Hou Cheng entered the stable, removed the renowned horse, and fled the city. Wei Xu let him through the gate, then feigned pursuit. When Hou Cheng reached Cao Cao's camp, he presented the horse to his lieutenants. He told them a white flag on the city wall would be their signal to attack Xiapi. Accordingly, Cao Cao ordered copies of the following proclamation tied to arrows and shot over the wall:
Regent-Marshal Cao Cao, empowered by the sovereign's illustrious mandate, has taken up arms against Lü Bu. Whoever opposes himself to this great undertaking will fall to the sword, together with his entire clan, on the day of conquest. Whoever delivers Lü Bu—dead or alive—be he commander or commoner, will gain rank and wealth. Let all be cognizant of these instructions.
The next day at dawn the walls seemed to shake from the tumult the besiegers raised. Alarmed, Lü Bu picked up his halberd and ascended the wall, checking each gate. He vowed to punish Wei Xu for letting Hou Cheng get away with his prize steed. Beyond the wall Cao's soldiers saw the white flag and launched their attack. Lü Bu, virtually alone, resisted the assault, which went on from dawn to midday before abating slightly. Giving way to fatigue, Lü Bu dozed off in the city tower. Song Xian dismissed the guards, removed the halberd, and, with Wei Xu's help, tied up Lü Bu. Jerking awake, Lü Bu called for his guard, but the captors cut them down and waved the signal flag. Cao Cao's men stormed the wall. "We have Lü Bu alive!" shouted Wei Xu. General Xiahou Dun refused to believe it until Song Xian threw down Lü Bu's famed halberd and opened the city gate. Cao Cao's soldiers poured through. Gao Shun and Zhang Liao were trapped by the flood at the western gate and captured; Chen Gong was taken by Xu Huang at the southern gate.
After entering Xiapi, Cao Cao ordered the river restored to its normal course and a placard hung assuring the people of their safety. Together with Liu Xuande, whose two brothers stood beside him, Cao Cao sat in the tower at the White Gate examining the captives. Lü Bu, a tall, powerful man now trussed into a ball, continually pleaded for the ropes to be loosened. "A tiger needs to be tightly bound," Cao Cao said to him. Lü Bu saw Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Hou Cheng standing free and cried, "Did I not treat you well? How could you betray me?" "You listened only to your women," Song Xian answered, "not to your commanders. Is that what you mean by 'treat well'?" Lü Bu was silent.
When Gao Shun was hustled in, Cao Cao asked him, "Anything to say?" Gao Shun made no reply, and Cao Cao dispatched him to his death. Then Xu Huang delivered Chen Gong. "I trust you have been well since we parted," Cao Cao said.13 "Your mind is depraved," Chen Gong retorted. "Does that explain why you had to serve Lü Bu?" Cao Cao asked. "He may have been incapable at strategy," Chen Gong answered defiantly, "but he was equally incapable of treachery." "And you, with all of your shrewdness and strategy, how are you going to get out of this?" Cao Cao demanded. Chen Gong looked toward Lü Bu and said, "Alas! Had he taken my advice we might never have been captured." "And now," said Cao Cao, "what shall we do?" "Today," Chen Gong replied, "I look only for death." "And what of your mother," asked Cao, "your wife and your children?" "It is said," Gong responded, "that he who governs with filial duty will never injure another's parents; that he who rules humanely will never cut off the sacrifices from a man's descendants. My lord, their fate lies with you. I am your captive and ask only for execution; I have no misgivings."14
Cao Cao felt a lingering affection for his former companion, but Chen Gong strode brusquely down from the tower, shaking off the guards who tried to stop him. Cao Cao rose from his seat and wept to see him go, but Chen Gong never turned back. Cao Cao said to his men, "Take his family to the capital and see to their needs as long as they live. Anyone mistreating them
will die." Though he heard Cao Cao, Chen Gong said nothing as he offered his neck to the executioner. The assembly wept. Cao Cao had the corpse placed in a double coffin and buried in Xuchang.15 A later poet lamented Chen Gong:
In life, in death, an undivided will—
A hero staunch and doughty!
But only to a lord of rarest worth
Should a vassal pledge his fealty.
All homage for upholding his liege lord.
We sorrow as he bids his kin farewell.
At White Gate Tower he met his death unbowed:
The conduct of Chen Gong none can excel.
After Cao Cao had left to escort Chen Gong to his execution, Lü Bu appealed to Xuande: "Now you sit in honor, and I sit, a prisoner, at your feet. Won't you spare a word in my behalf?" Xuande nodded. When Cao Cao returned, Lü Bu shouted, "I was your chief foe, but now I submit. With you as commander in chief and me as your lieutenant, the world can be easily conquered." Cao Cao looked over to Xuande and asked, "What do you say?" "Have you forgotten what happened to his former patrons, Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo?" was the reply. Lü Bu eyed Xuande and cried, "You! Most faithless of all!" Cao Cao ordered Lü Bu removed and put to death by strangulation. "Longeared one," Lü Bu pleaded, looking back at Xuande, "have you forgotten how I saved you with a shot of my bow?" Suddenly someone shouted, "Lü Bu you coward! Die and be done with it! What are you afraid of?" Everyone turned to the speaker, Zhang Liao, who was surrounded by armed guards. Cao Cao ordered Bu's execution to proceed. Afterward his head was displayed. A poet has described his final hour at Xiapi:
The flood tide surged and swamped his last stronghold;
His own men led him bound before his foes.
What use now, his thousand-li! steed?
And where was his many-bladed halberd?
Coward now, the tiger looks for mercy:
"Never give the hunting hawk its fill."
Fooled by Cao's words, woman-doting,
Spurning Chen Gong's warning plea—
What right had he to blame
The long-ear'd one's bad faith?
Another poet wrote of Liu Xuande:
No mercy for the tiger when he's tied:
Of Yuan and Zhuo the bloody memory's fresh.
Though, why not spare Bu as a "son" for Cao,
Knowing of his taste for father-flesh!16
Zhang Liao, the one who had told Lü Bu to die like a man, was marched under guard up to Cao. "This man looks familiar," Cao Cao remarked. "We met once—at Puyang. Have you forgotten?" Zhang Liao said. "So, you remember," Cao Cao said. "Only to regret," was the reply. "Regret what?" asked Cao Cao. "That our fires failed to burn out a traitor like you," he shot back. "No fallen general abuses me!" Cao Cao cried, raising his sword. Zhang Liao remained calm, awaiting death. But someone seized Cao Cao's arm from behind, and another knelt before him, pleading, "Your Excellency, desist."
Indeed:
Lü Bu begged mercy and was refused.
Zhang Liao denounced the traitor and was spared.
Who pleaded for his life?
Read on.
20
Cao Cao Leads the Royal Hunt near the Capital;
Dong Cheng Receives a Mandate in the Palace
Liu Xuande caught Cao Cao's arm in midair, and Lord Guan kneeled before the prime minister. "Zhang Liao has a true and guileless heart," Xuande pleaded. "We need more like him." "I know him for a man of loyalty and honor," Lord Guan added, "and I will vouch for him with my life."1 Cao Cao tossed his sword aside and said, smiling, "And I think so too! I acted in jest!" Untying Zhang Liao's bonds himself, Cao wrapped a garment of his own around the prisoner and invited him to a seat of honor. Zhang Liao, moved by Cao Cao's earnestness, swore his allegiance to Cao. Cao Cao then appointed Liao Imperial Corps commander and an honorary lord2 and sent him to demand the submission of Zang Ba, leader of the Mount Tai bandits.
Zang Ba, however, had already heard of Lü Bu's death and Zhang Liao's surrender; with his men he promptly went over to Cao Cao. Richly rewarded, Zang Ba was able to secure the surrender of the other bandit leaders—Sun Guan, Wu Dun, and Yin Li. Only Chang Xi held out. Cao Cao appointed Zang Ba governor of Langye fief. He gave Sun Guan and the others appointments and ordered them to protect the coastal region of Qingzhou and Xuzhou.
Lü Bu's wives and daughters were transported to the capital. The imperial army was feasted; then all units decamped and the army marched back to the capital. As they passed through Xuzhou (the province Lü Bu had taken over from Xuande), the people lined the road, burning incense and appealing to Cao Cao to restore Xuande as protector. But Cao Cao said, "Protector Liu has rendered great service. Let him first come before the Emperor for his enfeoffment." The common folk touched their heads to the ground in appreciation.3 Meanwhile, Cao Cao appointed General of Cavalry and Chariots Che Zhou provisional protector of Xuzhou. Back in Xuchang, Cao Cao rewarded all who had joined his campaign and assigned Xuande comfortable quarters near his ministerial residence.4
The next day Emperor Xian held court. Cao Cao hailed Xuande's feats of arms and presented him. Attired in court apparel, Xuande paid homage at the base of the steps to the throne. The Emperor then instructed him to ascend. "Tell me of your lineage," the Emperor said.5 "I can trace my ancestry through Prince Jing of Zhongshan," Xuande replied, "back to his father, Jing, the fourth emperor. My grandfather was Liu Xiong, my father Liu Hong." Emperor Xian ordered the director of the Imperial Clan to recite from the clan registry.
"Emperor Jing had fourteen sons," the official intoned, "the seventh of whom was Prince Jing of Zhongshan, Liu Sheng by name. Sheng begat Zhen, precinct master of Lu; Zhen begat Ang, lord of Pei; Ang begat Lu, lord of Zhang; Lu begat Lian, lord of Yishui; Lian begat Ying, lord of Qinyang; Ying begat Jian, lord of Anguo; Jian begat Ai, lord of Guangling; Ai begat Xian, lord of Jiaoshui; Xian begat Shu, lord of Zuyi; Shu begat Yi, lord of Qiyang; Yi begat Bi, lord of Yuanze; Bi begat Da, lord of Yingchuan; Da begat Buyi, lord of Fengling; Buyi begat Hui, lord of Jichuan; Hui begat Xiong, prefect of Fan, a county of Dongjun; Xiong begat Hong, who held no office; Xuande is the son of Hong."
The Emperor checked the order of the lineage and found that Xuande was indeed an imperial uncle. Elated, Emperor Xian summoned him to an adjoining room, where they enacted the formalities befitting uncle and nephew. The Emperor mused, "Cao Cao abuses his authority to the point that state affairs are out of our control. But now we may have a remedy in this heroic uncle of mine." He made Xuande general of the Left and precinct master of Yi. After a grand banquet to mark the occasion, Xuande thanked the sovereign for his generosity and left the court. He was known thereafter as Imperial Uncle Liu.
Returning to his quarters, Cao Cao was confronted by his advisers. "You have nothing to gain, Your Excellency," Xun Wenruo argued, "from this new relationship between Liu Bei and the Emperor." "Although he has been recognized as an imperial uncle," Cao Cao replied, "I still command him by imperial decree. He is thus doubly bound. Don't forget: so long as he's here in Xuchang, we have him well in hand—however near the Emperor he may be.6 There's nothing to fear. What really worries me is that Yang Biao, our grand commandant, is a member of Yuan Shu's clan and could do us great harm if he decided to work for the Yuan brothers. I want him eliminated at once."7 Accordingly, Cao Cao had Yang Biao incarcerated for alleged connivance with Yuan Shu. Man Chong was assigned to the case.
At this time Kong Rong, governor of Beihai,8 was in the capital; he protested to Cao, "Yang Biao comes from a family that has exhibited the purest virtue for four generations. You can't prosecute him for his ties to the Yuans." "It is His Majesty's wish," Cao Cao replied. "Suppose," Kong Rong retorted, "that at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty the child emperor Cheng had had Duke Shao killed. Who would believe a protestation of innocence from the regent, the Duke of Zhou?" On the strength of this argument Cao Cao released Yang Biao and sent him home to his village. But when Court Counselor Zhao Yan, indignant at Cao Cao's high-handed rule, accus
ed the prime minister of lese majesty in arbitrarily arresting high ministers, Cao Cao arrested Zhao Yan and had him killed. The whole court trembled at this demonstration of Cao's temper.
Cheng Yu advised Cao Cao, "Sir, your prestige increases day by day. Perhaps the time is ripe for preparing to ascend the throne yourself?" "The court," Cao Cao replied, "has too many loyal ministers for us to move imprudently. I plan to invite the Emperor to a grand hunt. We'll see what the reaction is then."
Prime horses, pedigreed hunting hawks, and champion hounds were selected; the bows and arrows were made ready. Cao Cao assembled his soldiers outside the city and then entered the palace to invite the Emperor to lead the hunt. "This appears somewhat unorthodox," the sovereign commented. "The kings and emperors of ancient times," Cao explained, "held four grand hunts yearly, riding forth from the capital each season to show the world their prowess. Now with the empire in commotion, a hunt should provide an ideal occasion for us to demonstrate our- skill at arms." Unable to refuse, the Emperor mounted his easy-gaited horse and, armed with jeweled bow and gold-tipped arrows, led the procession out of the city.9
Liu Xuande, Lord Guan, and Zhang Fei, bows and blades at the ready, breastplates under their dress, led several dozen horsemen in the cavalcade. On a rich chestnut horse, a "flying spark," Cao Cao rode at the head of one hundred thousand men. Arriving at Xutian, they fanned out and enclosed the field in a ring of some two hundred li. Cao Cao kept his horse parallel to the Emperor's, never more than a head apart. His trusted commanders and officers massed behind him. The regular imperial officials, civil and military, trailed in the rear, none daring to draw close.
Three Kingdoms Page 27
