Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  Myriad-leagued, dusky clouds expand.

  Capering snow through an infinite sky

  Transforms the never-changing land.

  He looks into the ether's vastitude:

  Are jade dragons at war up there,

  Strewing their scales every which way,

  And filling up the hollow sphere?

  Alone,

  Sighing for the plum trees' battered blooms.15

  Certain that Sleeping Dragon was coming, Xuande leaped from the saddle to extend his greetings. "It must be hard for you, master," he said, "to brave this bitter cold. I have long been awaiting you." The startled rider climbed off his beast and returned the salutation. Then Zhuge Jun came up and said, "This is not Sleeping Dragon; it is his father-in-law, Huang Chengyan."

  "I happened to hear you chanting just now," Xuande said. "It sounded so elevated and poignant." "I was reading the 'Liangfu Elegies' in my son-in-law's home," the man replied. "I had that stanza in mind as I crossed the bridge; the plum blossoms near the fence moved me to sing. I never imagined an honored guest might hear me." "Have you seen your esteemed son-in-law?" Xuande asked. "Actually, I am coming to see him," was the reply. With that, Xuande took his leave, remounted, and headed home. The wind and snow grew fiercer. Giving a last look back over Sleeping Dragon Ridge, Xuande felt overwhelmed by sadness and uncertainty. As a poet of later times wrote,

  That stormy day he sought the sage in vain,

  And sore at heart, he started home again.

  The creek bridge, frozen; the land, sheer ice—

  His trembling horse has many li to cross.

  Pear-petal flakes descending from the skies,

  Antic willow puffs darting at his eyes,

  He turns and halts to view the scene behind:

  Banked with snow, the silvered ridges shine.

  Back in Xinye time crept by until it was again spring. Xuande ordered the diviners to cast for a propitious time to visit Kongming. After three days' abstinence from meat and wine, Xuande bathed, smeared himself with ritual oils, changed his clothes, and went back to Sleeping Dragon Ridge. His two brothers expressed intense displeasure and protested.16 Indeed:

  The worthiest has yet to bend the hero's will;

  Servility could shake his fighters' confidence.

  What would Xuande say to them?

  Read on.

  38

  Kongming Determines the Realm's Division and Charts a Course;

  Sun Quan Leads a Naval Attack and Exacts Revenge

  Despite his two fruitless visits, Liu Xuande resolved to pay another call on Kongming. "Twice, brother," Lord Guan said, "you have respectfully presented yourself. Such courtesy is indulgence. It seems to me that Kongming has a false reputation and no real learning. That is why he avoids receiving you. Why are you so captivated by this man?" "You fail to understand," Xuande replied. "Long ago Prince Huan of the state of Qi tried five times before he succeeded in seeing the recluse of Dongguo, Guan Zhong. Getting to see the wise and worthy Kongming may well demand even more of us."

  "Dear brother," Zhang Fei declared, "I think you overrate this village bumpkin. What makes him so wise and worthy? Spare yourself the trip. If he refuses to come, it will only take a bit of rope to bring him here!" "I suppose," Xuande said with a scowl, "you've never heard of King Wen, founder of the Zhou, presenting himself to Jiang Ziya. If King Wen could show a wise man such respect, what excuses your utter discourtesy? This time you may stay here. Lord Guan and I will go on together." "Since my elder brothers are going," Zhang Fei replied, "I cannot stay behind." "Let us have nothing unsociable out of you, then," Xuande warned. Zhang Fei agreed.

  The brothers and their attendants rode toward Longzhong. Half a li from the hermitage they dismounted as a sign of respect. Approaching on foot, they met Zhuge Jun. Xuande hastily extended a greeting and asked, "Is your honored brother at the farm?" "He came home last night," was the reply, "and today, General, you may see him." With that, Zhuge Jun sauntered away. "We're in luck this time," Xuande said. "We will see the master." "What a rude fellow!" Zhang Fei exclaimed. "What would it have cost him to walk us to the farm? Why did he make off just like that?" "He must have something to attend to," Xuande remarked. "Don't be unreasonable."

  The three went to the front gate and knocked. A youth received them. "May I trouble you, young acolyte," Xuande said, "to report that Liu Bei has come especially to pay his respects to the master?" "The master is at home today," the lad replied, "however, he is napping in the cottage and has not yet awakened." "In that case, do not announce us for now," Xuande said. He ordered his brothers to wait near the door, and slowly entered the cottage himself. He saw the master lying on a couch and assumed a humble posture as he stood below. A while passed; the master continued sleeping.

  Growing impatient, Lord Guan and Zhang Fei came into the chamber and found Xuande standing in attendance as before. Zhang Fei said angrily to Lord Guan, "The insolence! Our brother standing in attendance, while he pretends to sleep peacefully on! Let me go out and torch the rear. We'll see whether that gets him up or not!"1 Lord Guan calmed his junior, and Xuande ordered both outside to resume their watch. When Xuande looked into the chamber again, the master was turning over and seemed about to wake, but then he rolled back toward the wall, sleeping soundly once again. The lad came in and tried to announce the visitor, but Xuande persuaded him not to disturb Kongming. After another hour or so Kongming finally rose and chanted a song:

  From this great dream who would waken first?

  All along I've known the part to play:

  To sleep in springtime, and to ask no more,

  Though outside, longer, longer grow the days.2

  "Any callers from the outside world?" Kongming asked, turning to the lad. "Imperial Uncle Liu," he replied, "has been waiting here for some time." Kongming stood up. "You should have told me sooner! I need time to change my clothes," he said and hurried to his private quarters. It was another while before he reappeared, clothes and cap correct, and greeted his guest.

  To Xuande, Kongming appeared singularly tall, with a face like gleaming jade and a plaited silken band around his head. Cloaked in crane down, he had the buoyant air of a spiritual transcendent. Xuande prostrated himself and said, "I, Liu Bei, a foolish fellow from Zhuo district, a distant scion of the house of Han, have long felt your mighty name thunder in my ears. Twice before I have presented myself and, failing to gain audience, finally set my worthless name to a letter. I have never learned whether it was brought to your discerning attention." "A simple rustic of Nanyang," Kongming replied, "negligent and indolent by nature, I am indebted to you, General, for the pains you have taken to travel our way. I have been remiss."3 After further civilities they seated themselves as host and guest, and tea was served.

  The conversation continued. "I could see in your letter," Kongming began, "a compassionate concern for the people and the dynasty. But I fear that you are mistaken in seeking the help of one so young and so limited in ability." "I don't think Sima Hui and Shan Fu would have praised you so highly without good reason," Xuande responded, adding, "I only hope that you will overlook my crudeness, my lack of status, and vouchsafe your edifying instruction." Kongming answered, "Sima Hui and Shan Fu are two of the noblest scholars of the age. I am but a common tiller of the soil. What right have I to speak of the empire? These gentlemen have made a preposterous recommendation. What good can it do, General, to pick the dull and useless stone but pass up the precious jewel?" "How can a man with the ability to shape the times waste himself among the groves and springs?" Xuande continued. "I beg you to consider the living souls of this land and for their sake enlighten me, free me of ignorance and folly." "I would like to know your aspirations, General," Kongming said with a smile.

  Xuande dismissed everyone present, shifted his mat closer to Kongming's, and declared, "The house of Han teeters on ruin. Unscrupulous subjects have stolen the mandate of rule. Failing to recognize my limitations, I have tried to promote the
great principle of true allegiance throughout the empire; but my superficial knowledge and inadequate methods have so far kept me from achieving anything. If you, master, would relieve my ignorance and keep our cause alive, the blessing would be truly ten-thousandfold."

  "Since the time of Dong Zhuo's sedition," Kongming began, " powerful and aggressive figures have come into their own. Cao Cao could overcome Yuan Shao, though his strength was initially inferior, thanks to wise planning and favorable occasion. Now Cao has an army of one million and uses his hold on the Emperor to make the feudal barons do his bidding. There is no way you can cross spearpoints with him. As for Sun Quan, he has a firm grip on the Southland and represents the third generation of his family's power there. The territory is difficult of access, and the people are devoted to him. Hence, the south may serve as a supporting ally, but it is not a strategic objective.

  "Now consider the central province, Jingzhou. To the north it commands the Han and Mian rivers; to the south it draws wealth from Nanhai;4 eastward it communicates with the Southland districts; westward it offers access to the districts of the Riverlands—that is, Xichuan—Ba and Shu. Jingzhou—that's the place to fight for! Only a fitting ruler can hold it. And Jingzhou seems to be the very place that Heaven wants to give you, General, if you have the ambition for it.

  "Yizhou in the west, strategically located, is an inaccessible frontier province whose fertile wildlands extend thousands of li—a kingdom rightly called Heaven's Cornucopia. The first emperor of the Han consummated his imperial enterprise by basing himself there. The present provincial protector, Liu Zhang, is benighted and feeble, and even though the people are well-off and the realm is thriving, he does not know how to care for either. Yizhou's men of insight and capability are yearning for enlightened rule.

  "Now, General, you are known across the land as a trustworthy and righteous scion of the Han, one who keeps noble warriors in hand and thirsts for men of merit. If you sit astride these two provinces, Jing and Yi, guard well their strategic points, come to terms with the Rong tribes on the west, placate the Yi and the Viets to the south, form a diplomatic alliance with Sun Quan, and conduct a program of reform in your own territory—then you may wait for the right moment when one of your top generals will be able to drive north to Luoyang by way of Wancheng while you yourself mount an offensive from the Riverlands through the Qinchuan region.5 And won't the good common folk 'basket food and jug wine' to welcome you, my general! Thus can your great endeavor be brought to fulfillment and the house of Han revived. This is how I would shape strategy for you, General. It remains for you to consider it.''6

  Kongming hung a map and continued: "These are the fifty-four counties of the west. To establish your hegemony, let Cao Cao in the north have the advantage of timely circumstance; let Sun Quan in the south have his geographical advantages; you, my general, will have the allegiance of men. First, take Jingzhou and make it your home base. Then move into the Riverlands and build your third of the triangle of power. Eventually, the northern heartland will become your objective."

  Rising from his mat and joining his hands in respectful gratitude, Xuande said, "Master, you have opened the thicket that barred my view and have made me feel as if clouds and mists have parted and I have gained blue sky. The only thing is, Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of the Riverlands are both, like myself, imperial kinsmen. How could I bear to seize what is theirs?" "Every night," Kongming replied, "I study the configurations of the heavens. Liu Biao will not be long among the living. And Liu Zhang has no ambition worthy of the name. In time he will transfer his allegiance to you." Xuande pressed his head to the ground to show his respect.

  By this single interview Kongming, who had never left his thatched cottage, demonstrated his foreknowledge of the tripodal balance of power—truly an incomparable man in any generation! A poet of later times has recorded his admiration:

  Governor Liu, cast adrift, alone,

  By fortune found Nanyang's Sleeping Dragon.

  He sought to know the shape of things to be;

  Smiling, the master mapped his strategy.

  Xuande humbly petitioned Kongming: "Though my name be inconsiderable, my virtue meagre, I beg you not to spurn me as a vulgar man of little worth. Come out from these hills to lend us your aid, and I will listen obediently to your enlightening instruction." Kongming replied, "Here I have long been content, with my plow and mattock, and hesitate to respond to the demands of the world. Forgive me if I am unable to accept such service." Xuande began to weep. "If you remain here," he said, "what of the living souls of this land?" Xuande's tears wet the sleeves of his war gown and soaked his lapel. Kongming, moved by the sincerity of his intent, said, "If you will have me, then, General, I shall serve you like a hound or horse."

  Elated by Kongming's answer, Xuande called in Lord Guan and Zhang Fei. They offered the gifts Xuande had prepared, but Kongming adamantly declined until Xuande assured him, "Think of this not as a formal petition to a man of great worth, but simply as a humble expression of personal feeling." At last Kongming received the gifts. Xuande and his brothers stayed at the farm overnight. The next day Kongming told Zhuge Jun, who had come back, "I am accepting the kind generosity of Imperial Uncle Liu, who has favored me with three calls. I am obliged to go. Remain at your labors and do not let our acres go fallow. When my work is done, I shall return to resume my life of seclusion." A wistful poem, written in later times, goes:

  About to soar, he felt himself drawn back;

  His task complete, he'll think of this farewell.

  Only for the monarch, who pleaded and pleaded again:

  The "falling star," the "autumn winds" —the "last campaign."7

  There is another ballad in the old style:8

  Han's founding king drew his snow-white sword

  And slew the silver serpent in the Mang-Dang Hills;

  He quelled Qin, smote Chu, and claimed Xianyang.

  Ten score passed; the line would have expired,

  But mighty Guang Wu revived its fortunes in Luoyang;

  The throne remained secure till Huan and Ling:

  Court rule broke down; Xiandi was moved to Xuchang.

  Bold spirits now arose at every turn:

  Cao Cao seized power; the times were in his favor;

  In the south, the Sun house founded its estate.

  Lost and sorely tried, Xuande roamed the realm;

  Off in Xinye, he took to heart the people's woes.

  Nanyang's Sleeping Dragon dreamed great dreams;

  In his mind deep strategies took form.

  If Shan Fu had not spoken Kongming's name,

  Could Xuande's triple quest have ever been?

  So Kongming at an age of three times nine

  Packed his books and lute and quit his fields.

  "Take Jingzhou first and then take the west!"

  Here was a plan to alter destiny.

  Across the realm his words created storms.

  Juggling stars that held men's fate, he smiled.

  Dragons ramped, tigers stalked, sky and land stood calmed;

  Time itself can never waste his name.

  After bidding Zhuge Jun good-bye, Xuande returned to Xinye with his brothers and Kongming. Xuande treated Kongming as his mentor. They ate together and slept together and spent the days analyzing events in the empire. Kongming observed: "Cao Cao has built the Pool of the Dark Tortoise to train his fighters for naval warfare. That means he intends to invade the south. We ought to send agents south to find out what is happening." And it was done.9

  After the death of Sun Ce,10 Sun Quan had consolidated his hold on the Southland and extended the patrimony founded by his late father and brother. He brought into his government scholars of merit, and established a guesthouse in Kuaiji in Wuxian, commissioning Gu Yong and Zhang Hong to receive worthy guests from all regions. Over the years the following scholars came by mutual recommendation: Kan Ze (Derun) of Kuaiji; Yan Jun (Mancai) of Pengcheng; Xue Zong (Jingwen) of Pei c
ounty; Cheng Bing (Deshu) of Ruyang; Zhu Huan (Xiumu) and Lu Ji (Gongji) of Wujun; Zhang Wen (Huishu) of Wu; Luo Tong (Gongxu) of Wushang; Wu Can (Kongxiu) of Wucheng. These men received generous and courteous treatment in the Southland. A number of important military leaders came too: Lü Meng (Ziming) of Runan; Lu Xun (Boyan) of Wujun; Xu Sheng (Wenxiang) of Langye; Pan Zhang (Wengui) of Dongjun; Ding Feng (Chengyuan) of Lujiang. Sun Quan's civil and military officials worked in close cooperation, and the Southland gained a reputation as a land that fostered talent.

  In the seventh year of Jian An, Cao Cao, having vanquished Yuan Shao, ordered his representative to the Southland to demand that Sun Quan send a son to the capital to serve the Emperor. Sun Quan could not decide whether or not to comply. His mother, Lady Wu, summoned Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu. Zhang Zhao advised, "Cao Cao's attempt to get one of our lord's sons in his court is a traditional device for keeping the feudal barons under control. If we do not comply, he could raise an army and subjugate the Southland."

  Zhou Yu, however, argued, "General Sun has inherited the task his father and brother began. He has brought together the population of the six districts.11 His army is elite, his grain supplies ample. His officers and men are responsive to command. Why should we send hostages to anyone? Once we do, it will lead to an alliance with Cao Cao, and whenever he calls on us, we will have to go. Rather than become subject to his authority, I think it best to send no hostage but to observe how things develop and prepare a sound defense." "Zhou Yu is correct," Lady Wu decided. Sun Quan, in deference to his mother, cordially dismissed Cao Cao's representative and refused to send a son. After that Cao Cao was determined to subdue the Southland, but disturbances in the north gave him no respite for a southern campaign.12