Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  Liu Biao responded, "They say, worthy brother, that in the capital you and Cao Cao once judged the heroes of the age over hot plum wine. Cao would acknowledge none of the renowned men whom you proposed, saying, 'Of heroes, this world has but two-—you and me!' If Cao with all his power and influence did not rate himself above you, why are you so concerned that your task is not being accomplished?" Under the effect of the wine Xuande said more than he meant to when he replied, "If I had a real base, these tedious types would no longer vex me." Liu Biao made no response. Xuande realized his mistake. Alleging intoxication, he rose and went back to the guesthouse. Many years later a poet wrote of Xuande:

  Lord Cao named the rivals that he owned:

  "Inspector, you're the second of the realm!"

  But Xuande felt his sinews going slack—

  How could he keep the world of Han intact?

  Liu Biao made no reply, but Xuande's last comment had perturbed him deeply. He retired to the company of Lady Cai, who said to him, "I overheard Xuande just now. How contemptuous he is! It's easy enough to see he means to have our province. Unless he is eliminated now, there will be great trouble." Liu Biao, however, simply shook his head and kept silent. Lady Cai secretly summoned Commander Cai Mao, and they discussed the matter. "I could go to Xuande's lodging and kill him," Cai Mao suggested. "We would report it to His Lordship afterward." Lady Cai agreed, and Cai Mao called up soldiers for the purpose that night.

  Meanwhile, Xuande was sitting in his quarters in the candlelight. He was about to retire, a little after the third watch, when someone knocked on his door and came in. It was Yi Ji, the man who had warned him about the marked horse. He had learned of the plot to kill Xuande and had come to inform him. He described Cai Mao's scheme and urged Xuande to get away immediately. "How can I leave before saying a proper farewell to Liu Biao?" Xuande asked. "If you wait for that, Cai Mao will get you, I know." Xuande therefore bade Yi Ji a grateful good-bye, summoned his followers, and rode off before daybreak. By the time Cai Mao had reached the guesthouse with his soldiers, Xuande was back in Xinye. Vexed that Xuande had eluded him, Cai Mao inscribed a poem on the wall of Xuande's room and then reported to Liu Biao, "Xuande intends to rebel. He wrote a seditious poem on his wall and then departed without bidding you good-bye." Liu Biao, unwilling to believe this tale, went to Xuande's room, where he found the following:

  So many years in hard adversity,

  Staring back at the same old hills and streams—

  In a pond no dragon's meant to lie;

  He'll ride the thunder to the sky!

  The verse enraged Liu Biao; he drew his sword and swore, "I'll kill the faithless ingrate!" But he reconsidered almost at once. "In all our time together," Liu Biao mused, "I have never known him to compose poetry. Some outsider may well be trying to estrange us." Liu Biao walked slowly back into Xuande's room and scratched out the poem with the point of his sword; then he threw down the weapon and mounted his horse. "My men are all in readiness," Cai Mao said. "We should go straight to Xinye and arrest Xuande." "Don't be so impetuous," Liu Biao replied. "It will take careful planning."

  Unable to provoke his lord to act, Cai Mao planned privately with Lady Cai to hold a grand feast in Xiangyang for all the officials and to use the occasion to kill Xuande. The next day Cai Mao petitioned Liu Biao: "Let us have a gathering of officials at Xiangyang to show our satisfaction over the excellent harvests of recent years. Would Your Lordship be willing to make the trip?" "My breathing ailment has been acting up of late," Liu Biao replied. "My two sons may serve in my stead." "I am afraid," Cai Mao responded, "they are too young to do justice to the ceremony." "Then invite Xuande to officiate," Liu Biao suggested. Secretly delighted that his plan was working, Cai Mao sent a messenger to Xinye to request Xuande's presence in Xiangyang.

  Xuande had fled back to Xinye well aware of the danger his careless comments had placed him in. He kept his own counsel, however, until the unexpected invitation arrived. "My lord," Sun Qian said to him, "you came home so distracted, I feared something had happened in Jingzhou. Now this invitation . . . We must consider it carefully." Xuande then confided to his companions the events of the preceding day. "Elder brother," Lord Guan said, "you are being overly suspicious if you think you misspoke. Liu Biao8 is not holding it against you. Why should you believe a stranger like Yi Ji? But if you refuse to go to nearby Xiangyang, you will arouse Liu Biao's suspicions." "I agree," Xuande said, but Zhang Fei objected. "There's no such thing as a good banquet or a good conference," he asserted flatly. "Better not go!" Zhao Zilong said, "I will take three hundred men to escort you and prevent anything from happening." "That would be best," Xuande decided.

  Cai Mao received Xuande and Zhao Zilong outside of Xiangyang and showed himself both modest and attentive. Following Cai Mao were Liu Qi and Liu Zong, Liu Biao's two sons, leading a delegation of officers and officials. They greeted Xuande, who felt somewhat reassured by the presence of the sons. He was taken to the guesthouse, and Zhao Zilong set up the guard. Fully armed, he never left Xuande's side.

  Liu Qi said to Xuande, "My father suffers from a breathing ailment. It is difficult for him to move. He especially wanted you, uncle, to receive the guests and give sympathetic encouragement to the officials who guard and govern our districts." "For myself," Xuande replied, "I would never dare undertake it. But since my elder brother commands it, I dare not decline." The next day it was reported that official personnel from the forty-two counties of Jingzhou had arrived for the celebration.

  Before the ceremonies, Cai Mao conferred with Kuai Yue. "Xuande," he said, "is a hero of our age, and shrewd as an owl. If he remains with us, it means trouble. But today we have the chance to get him out of the way." "Don't you think," Kuai Yue replied, "that would risk our losing popular support?" "I already have Protector Liu's secret instruction on this," Cai Mao replied.9 "In that case," Kuai Yue answered, "let's get ready." Cai Mao said, "The east gate leads to Xian Hill. My brother Cai He is guarding that road. Cai Zhong is outside the south gate, and Cai Xun by the north gate. There's no point in covering the west: that direction is cut off by the rapids of the River Tan. Even if Xuande had tens of thousands of men with him, he still couldn't get through." "What about Zhao Zilong? He never leaves Xuande's side," Kuai Yue asked. "I have five hundred men hidden in the city," Cai Mao replied. "Have Wen Ping and Wang Wei host a dinner for the military commanders in one of the outer rooms," Kuai Yue proposed, "and get Zhao Zilong to attend. That's when we'll do it." Cai Mao approved the plan. That day oxen and horses were slaughtered for the feast.

  Xuande, riding the marked horse, arrived at the Xiangyang yamen, where attendants hitched his mount in a rear courtyard. The officials assembled in the main hall. Xuande took the host's seat with Liu Biao's sons on either side, and the guests were placed according to rank. Zhao Zilong, armed with a sword, stood beside Xuande. As arranged, Wen Ping and Wang Wei invited Zilong to the commanders' feast. Zilong declined at first, but Xuande told him to go. Meanwhile, Cai Mao had sealed the place as tight as an iron barrel and sent Xuande's three hundred guards to their quarters. He was waiting only for the company to mellow with drink before giving the signal to strike.

  During the third round of wine Yi Ji raised his cup and approached Xuande. With a meaningful look in his eye, Yi Ji murmured, "Excuse yourself!" Xuande took the hint and went at once to the privy. Yi Ji drained his cup and rushed to the back courtyard. Catching up with Xuande, he whispered, "Cai Mao plans to kill you. Outside the wall, all routes to the east, the south, and the north are patrolled. The only way out is west. Get away at once." In high alarm Xuande untied his horse, pulled it through the courtyard gate, and vaulted into the saddle. Without giving a second thought to his escort, he fled by the western gate of Xiangyang. To the challenge of the gatekeepers he made no reply. He laid on the whip and dashed off. The guards could not check him, but they reported his flight at once, and Cai Mao pursued with five hundred men.

  Xuande had traveled only a
li or two when a river loomed before him several rods broad, its waves whipping. It was the Tan, a spur of the Xiang; Xuande rode to the bank. Seeing he could not get across, he turned back only to see dust clouds in the distance, west of the city: his pursuers would soon arrive. Thinking his time had come, he turned again to the river. Cai Mao's troops were already close behind. At his wit's end, he charged into the racing current. After a few paces the horse lost its footing. As they began to sink, Xuande's surcoat became soaked. Belaboring the horse, he shouted, "A jinxed horse, indeed! Today you have brought me misfortune." But the horse reared and, making thirty spans with every thrust, gained the opposite shore. Xuande emerged from the wild water as if from cloud and mist. This ballad by Su Dongpo in the old style sings of Xuande crossing the Tan:

  Late one spring day official service took me by the Tan:

  The sun was low; the blossoms newly down.

  I stopped the carriage and paced the bank, gazing across;

  Shreds of catkin, stirred by the wind, caught the sun.

  I saw in them the dying fire of Double Suns,10

  That time dragon battled dragon and tiger, tiger.

  At Xiangyang the guests of honor reveled,

  While Xuande, marked for death, made his escape.

  Out the western gate he rode,

  Reaching the rushing mistbound Tan

  Moments ahead of an angry cavalry—

  The rider's shout urged the dilu in.

  The pounding hooves break up the glassy waves,

  Under a golden whip flailed like Heaven's wind.

  Behind, to hear the clamor of a thousand cavalry!

  Amid the waves, to see those dragons rear:

  The noble hero who would rule the west,

  Borne (by some design) upon the dragon-steed.

  And eastward race the currents of the Tan;

  The dragon-steed, its master—whither gone?

  By river's edge, heartsore, to sigh, to sigh. . . .

  The last rays touch the hills, deserted, void.

  Was it more than dream—that age of kingdoms three?

  More than idle traces in our memory?11

  Looking back across the Tan, Xuande saw Cai Mao on the far bank. "My lord," Cai Mao shouted over, "why have you fled our feast?" "We were never enemies," Xuande answered back, "why do you want to kill me?" "I never meant to," Cai Mao responded. "You give too much credence, my lord, to others." But Xuande had noticed Cai Mao reaching for his bow and arrow, so he headed his horse southwest and rode off. "Sheer providence!" Cai Mao said to his followers. At that moment he saw Zhao Zilong and his three hundred fighters racing toward him. Indeed:

  The river-vaulting steed had saved its master.

  Would the oncoming tiger take revenge on Cai Mao?

  What was Cai Mao's fate?

  Read on.

  35

  Xuande Encounters a Recluse in Nanzhang;

  Shan Fu Finds a Hero-Lord in Xinye

  Cai Mao was turning back to the city of Xiangyang as Zhao Zilong hastened toward him with the three hundred guards. Earlier, during the banquet arranged for the military commanders, Zilong had noticed the movement of the host's cavalry and went to check on Xuande. Unable to find Xuande in the main hall, he went to the guesthouse. There he was told that Cai Mao and a party of troops had ridden west. Zhao Zilong, spear in hand, hastened after him. Now meeting up with Cai Mao he demanded, "Where is my lord?" "Lord Liu," Cai Mao replied, "left the banquet. We do not know where he is."

  Circumspect by nature, Zhao Zilong did nothing rash. He rode on to the river and stared across its swift flow. Where could his lord have gone? He confronted Cai Mao again. "Lord Liu was your guest," he said. "Why were you chasing him?" "We have officials from the forty-two counties of Jingzhou's nine districts meeting here," Cai Mao answered. "As senior commander I am responsible for the security of them all." "Where have you driven my lord?" Zhao Zilong pressed him. "I was told," Cai Mao said evenly, "that Lord Liu had left unattended through the west gate. I went to look but could not find him." Alarmed but uncertain, Zhao Zilong returned to the edge of the river. He spotted a watery trail on the opposite shore and mused, "Could he have made it over on the horse?"

  An extensive search turned up no trace of Xuande. Cai Mao returned to the city, and Zhao Zilong pressed the gate guards for information. They confirmed that Xuande had left by the west gate at a gallop. Zhao Zilong decided it was too dangerous to reenter the city and led his men back to Xinye.1

  Having vaulted the Tan, Xuande was dazed with excitement. "I couldn't have spanned that broad a stretch," he thought, "except by Heaven's will." He rode on toward Nanzhang by a winding path. In the setting sun he saw an ox drawing closer. On its back a cowherd blew on a flute. "Oh, for such a life!" Xuande said with a sigh. He held his horse and watched the lad bring the beast to a halt. The cowherd stopped piping and scrutinized Xuande. "You must be General Liu Xuande," he said, "who destroyed the Yellow Scarves!" Startled, Xuande replied, "How does a lad from this out-of-the-way village come to know my name?"

  The youth replied, "Not from my own knowledge, of course. But when guests come and I attend my master, I often hear talk of Liu Xuande—over six spans tall, arms reaching past his knees, eyes that can almost see behind him—one of the heroes of the age! The description fits, so I think you must be the man." "And who is your master?" Xuande asked. "He has a double surname, Sima," the youth replied. "His given name is Hui, his style Decao. He comes from Yingchuan and answers to the Taoist name of Still Water."2 Xuande inquired about the master's companions, and the boy answered, "His closest friends are Pang Degong and Pang Tong, uncle and nephew, from Xiangyang. Pang Degong is styled Shanmin; he's ten years older than my master. Pang Tong is styled Shiyuan; he is five years younger than my master. One day Pang Tong came by while my master was picking mulberry leaves, and they spent the whole day talking without tiring. My master has the greatest affection for Pang Tong and regards him as a younger brother." "And where is your master now?" Xuande inquired. Gesturing toward the woods, the lad said, "The farm is over there." Xuande finally acknowledged his identity and asked to be taken to Master Still Water.

  The cowherd guided Xuande some two li to a farmstead, where they dismounted. Entering through the central gate, they heard a lute being played. Xuande listened attentively to the exquisite sounds and asked the boy to wait before announcing him. The notes stopped, however, and the lute was struck no more. A man came out, smiling as he said, "The harmonies of the lute were somber yet distinct. Suddenly, through the melody a proud, assertive tone surged up. Some noble hero must have come to listen unobtrusively." "This is my master," the lad said to Xuande. Xuande remarked that he had the configuration of a pine tree, the bone structure of a crane. His physique and his aura were utterly extraordinary. Flustered, Xuande came forward to offer a greeting. His war coat was still soaking.

  "My good lord," Still Water said, "today it was your blessing to be spared calamity." Xuande was struck speechless. Still Water invited him into his thatched cottage, where they sat as host and guest. Xuande saw written scrolls heaped on the shelves; pine and bamboo flourished outside the window. The lute lay on a stone frame. The atmosphere was pure and euphoric. "What brings you here, my lord?" Still Water asked. "I happened to be passing through," Xuande replied, "and thanks to the boy's assistance I now have the satisfaction of being able to pay homage to your venerable self."

  Still Water smiled and said, "There is nothing to conceal or evade. You seek refuge, surely." This comment led Xuande to recount the details of his escape. "I knew. The look on your face bespoke the circumstances," the recluse said, and went on to ask, "I have long been acquainted with your great name, illustrious sir. But why has fortune frowned on you?" "The road ordained for me," Xuande conceded, "has not been smooth. That's why I am where I am." "There may be a different reason," Still Water continued. "It seems to me, General, that you have not found the right men to assist you." Xuande replied, "I know that I myself am not
particularly capable. But among my civil officials I have Sun Qian, Mi Zhu, and Jian Yong; and among my military officers Lord Guan, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Zilong. The unstinting loyalty of these men sustains me, and I rely on their support." "Each of the warriors, it is true," Still Water responded, "is a match for ten thousand. The pity is that you have no one to make good use of them. As for your civil officials, they are no more than pasty-faced bookworms, not of a caliber to unravel the complexities of the age and see our poor generation through these troubled times."

  "Actually," Xuande confessed, "I have been anxious to find a worthy man who has absented himself from the world of men. But, alas, I have yet to encounter him." Still Water replied, "You can't have forgotten Confucius' words: 'Even in a hamlet of ten households one is sure to find loyalty and good faith.' Do not despair of finding the man you seek." "I am dull and unobservant," Xuande said, "and would be grateful for your guidance." Still Water asked him, " Have you heard the jingle going around the Xiangyang area?

  In nine years' time things start to waste;

  In thirteen years there isn't a trace.

  Heaven sends things where they're due;

  The mudbound dragon mounts the blue.