Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  Engendering sparks where two sharp blades struck true:

  Two houses' fortune Heaven here ordained;

  From this moment, threefold power reigned.

  The two men left their weapons and hand in hand reentered the hall. After several more rounds Sun Qian looked meaningfully at Xuande, who announced apologetically, "The wine is too much for me. I beg to retire." Sun Quan escorted Xuande to the front of the temple, where the two men stood side by side contemplating the scenery. "There is no sight to equal it!" Xuande exclaimed. To this day a stele by the temple bears these words, "There is no sight to equal it." A later poet has left these lines of appreciation:

  Rain clearing o'er the scape; winecup firm in hand.

  Our realm is free of care; content prevails.

  Where long ago two heroes fixed their gaze

  Stony cliffs still beat back wind-blown waves.

  The two leaders looked on as the wind swept the river. Great waves rolled and foamed, and white breakers snatched at the heavens. Among the breakers a slip of a boat was moving as if on flat land. Sighing, Xuande said, "'Southerners steer boats; northerners ride horses.' How true." Sun Quan thought, "He's trying to make fun of my riding," and had his aides bring over a horse. He leaped on and charged down the slope; then laying on the whip, he raced up again. Smiling, he remarked to Xuande, "Southerners can't ride, you say?" At this, Xuande threw off his cloak and sprang to horseback. He flew down and swept back in a swift career. The two men stayed their mounts on the rise and laughed as they swung their whips. Today the spot is known as Halting Hill. A later poet wrote:

  What spirit in their charging dragon-steeds!

  Mounted side by side, they viewed the hills and vales:

  For Wu and Shu—east, west—two hegemons.

  And the Halting Hill remains, untouched by eons.

  The two men returned riding side by side, and the people of Nanxu voiced their approval to a man.

  Xuande went back to the guesthouse. Sun Qian said to him, "My lord, plead with State Elder Qiao to conclude this marriage as soon as possible before something else goes wrong." The next day Xuande was received into the home of Elder Qiao. After the formalities and tea, Xuande stated his desire: "Too many people in your land seek to do me injury. I'm afraid I cannot stay." "Rest easy," replied the elder. "I will speak to the state mother in your behalf and have her see to your safety." Xuande bowed low, thanked him, and returned to the guesthouse.

  State Elder Qiao went to see the state mother and told her of Xuande's fears and his anxiousness to return home. The state mother replied angrily, "Who would dare to harm my son-in-law?" and had him moved into her private study until the wedding day. Xuande informed the state mother that it was not convenient to have his lieutenant Zhao Zilong outside and his soldiers removed from his authority. And so she moved all the visitors from Jingzhou out of the guesthouse and into her residence for their safety. Xuande was delighted.

  A few days later a great banquet was held and the young Lady Sun was married to Liu Xuande. It was late at night before the guests dispersed. Xuande went to his chambers flanked by two rows of red candles, in whose light he took note of the many weapons stored within and of the sword-bearing serving maids standing to either side. Xuande was so frightened, he felt his very soul divide from his body. Indeed:

  Amazed to find armed maids in the bridal suite,

  Liu Bei suspected another Southland trap.

  What were they doing there?

  Read on.

  55

  Xuande Incites Lady Sun to Flee the South;

  Kongming Riles Zhou Yu for the Second Time

  Xuande turned pale glancing around Lady Sun's chamber; it was well stocked with spears and swords, and armed maidservants lined its walls. The keeper of the princess's quarters said to him, "Fear not, worthy sir. Our mistress is fond of martial arts, and her maids perform combat for her amusement. That explains what you see." "Hardly the proper thing for a lady to be watching," Xuande replied. "It gives me the chills. Send them out for a while." The keeper made a suggestion to Lady Sun; "This array of weapons unnerves our son-in-law. Have them removed for now." Lady Sun laughed. "A man half a lifetime on the battlefield," she said, "and afraid of these?" But she had the weapons taken away and her maids put by their swords before waiting on her and her husband.

  That night man and wife consummated their marriage in mutual bliss. Xuande distributed gold and silk to Lady Sun's attendants to win their goodwill. He also sent Sun Qian back to Jingzhou to tell Kongming the glad tidings. Meanwhile, day after day he indulged in wine. The state mother showed him deep love and due respect.

  Sun Quan sent a messenger to Zhou Yu in Chaisang with the news: "My sister and Liu Bei are married—at my mother's insistence! It never occurred to me that our ruse would turn into a reality. What are we to do?" Zhou Yu was shocked; he racked his brains until an idea struck him. He then drafted a secret letter to Sun Quan, which he gave the messenger to take back. In essence it said:

  It is hard to believe that my plan has turned against us! Given the outcome, however, we must think up another. Liu Bei, the very model of the crafty owl, has three great generals, Lord Guan, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Zilong, and Zhuge for his chief adviser. He won't stay long under anyone's authority. I suggest keeping him with us in congenial confinement. Give him sumptuous quarters to sap his will to fight. Send him plenty of alluring women and amusements to beguile his senses. Try to alienate him from Guan and Zhang and keep him as far as possible from Zhuge Liang. Then we can defeat him militarily and achieve our objective. But once we free him and he reaches the clouds, he will never again be content in a pond. I pray, most wise lord, you will consider this plan carefully.

  Sun Quan, having read the letter, showed it to Zhang Zhao, who said, "I am in full agreement with Zhou Yu. Liu Bei is a man of obscure origins, and in all his scuttling around the empire he has yet to have a taste of wealth and dignity. Let him enjoy a luxurious mansion with servants and riches, and divisions are bound to develop. Kongming, Guan, and Zhang will begin to resent him. And then we can plan to retake Jingzhou. Act quickly on Zhou Yu's advice, my lord."

  Sun Quan was delighted. He ordered renovation of the eastern palace and its garden richly planted for his young sister and Xuande. He had the rooms opulently furnished and had scores of female musicians as well as gifts of gold, jade, ornamented silk, and other things sent to the palace for their pleasure. The state mother, who took it to be a gesture of goodwill from Sun Quan, was overjoyed. Xuande himself began to lose his sense of purpose among these enchantments of song and dance and gradually put returning to Jingzhou from his mind.

  Posted at Xuande's new quarters, Zhao Zilong and his five hundred soldiers whiled away their time shooting and racing outside the city wall. Almost unnoticed, the year had come to an end. Zilong thought, "Kongming put three brocade bags in my hands and told me to open the first in Nanxu, the second when the year ended, and the third in a moment of desperation. The third contains some uncanny trick to guarantee the safe return of our lord. Now the year has drawn to a close. I never see my lord anymore, for he indulges his lusts continually: time to open the second bag for a plan of action." Zilong did so and found a marvelous plan.

  As directed, Zhao Zilong went immediately to the mansion at the eastern palace and demanded to see Xuande. A serving maid announced him: "Zhao Zilong is here on urgent business." Xuande summoned him and asked his purpose in coming. Putting on an appearance of surprise and apprehension, Zilong said, "My lord, dwelling in such splendid chambers, do you still remember Jingzhou?" "What is the cause of your concern?" Xuande responded. "This morning," said Zilong, "Kongming sent word that Cao Cao means to avenge his defeat at Red Cliffs and is heading for Jingzhou with half a million crack troops. He bids Your Lordship return at once to deal with the emergency." "I must discuss this with my wife," was the reply. But Zilong said, "If you do, she won't let you go. Better to say nothing and set out tonight. Delay and all is lost." "You may
leave now," Xuande said. "I know what I am doing." Zilong stressed the urgency of the situation several times before going out.

  Xuande went to Lady Sun. Silently, he shed tears. "What troubles you, my lord?" she inquired. Xuande replied, "The fate that has driven me to the ends of the realm and to strange climes has kept me from fulfilling my duties to my parents and from sacrificing to my ancestors. I have failed as a filial son. The coming of another year fills me with boundless sadness." "You needn't bother trying to fool me," Lady Sun responded. "I know full well what Zhao Zilong just reported—that Jingzhou may fall into enemy hands. They want you to return and you are giving me an excuse." Kneeling before her, Xuande pleaded, "Since you know already, my lady, I shall speak openly. If I stay and let the province fall to Cao, the world will have its laugh. But I cannot bear to lose you. This is the dilemma that torments me." "I have married you," she replied, "and shall follow wherever Your Lordship goes." "Though you may feel this way," said Xuande, "I doubt that the state mother and Lord Sun Quan will allow you to leave. If you have any compassion for me, we shall have to part for a while." He finished speaking and wept profusely.

  "Stop fretting," Lady Sun urged him. "I'll plead with my mother with all my heart; she will let me go with you." "She may agree," Xuande said. "But Sun Quan will surely stop us." Lady Sun remained silent for a long time; then she said, "When we offer our New Year's respects, I shall tell them we are going to sacrifice to your ancestors at the river. We can leave without announcing it. What do you think?" Xuande kneeled again and expressed his thanks: "If you do this for me, I will never forget it, not in this world nor in the next. But secrecy must be absolute." Thus their plan was made.

  Xuande secretly called Zhao Zilong and instructed him: "On New Year's Day lead your men out of the city very early and wait for me on the main road. I will tell them that I am making an ancestral sacrifice and will leave with Lady Sun." Zilong nodded. On the first day of the new year, Jian An 15,1 Lord Sun Quan held a great congregation in the state hall. Xuande and Lady Sun entered and prostrated themselves to honor the state mother. Lady Sun said, "The resting place of my husband's parents and ancestors, to the north in Zhuo county, has been much in his thoughts, causing him to grieve day and night. Today he wants to go to the river and send his gaze northward to pay homage to that far-off holy site. We take this opportunity to inform you." The state mother replied, "This is filial piety. How could we oppose it? Though you have never met your husband's parents, you should go with him and take part in the ceremony, as befits a daughter-in-law." Husband and wife touched their heads to the ground in gratitude and departed.

  Sun Quan was left in the dark. Lady Sun in her carriage, having taken only the barest necessities, and Xuande riding behind, attended by several horsemen, left Nanxu city. They met up with Zhao Zilong, whose five hundred warriors served as the van and brought up the rear; the procession proceeded at a doubled pace.

  That day Sun Quan had gotten drunk and had had to be helped back to his private rooms. His counselors and commanders had all returned to their own homes, so it was already evening by the time the disappearance of Xuande and Lady Sun was discovered. Sun Quan slept on till the fifth watch and could not be informed. When he learned of their flight the following day, he summoned his court. Zhang Zhao said, "The departure of Xuande will mean trouble before long. Pursue him immediately." Sun Quan ordered Chen Wu and Pan Zhang to take five hundred crack soldiers and bring back the fugitives as soon as possible. The two commanders departed to perform their duties.

  Sun Quan expressed his hatred for Xuande by smashing the jade inkstone on his desk into a thousand fragments. Cheng Pu said, "My lord, your anger is in vain. And I know your two commanders will never capture that fellow." "They would disobey me?" said Sun Quan. "Lady Sun," Zhang Zhao replied, "has fancied the martial arts all her life. She is severe, resolute, firm, and forthright. All the commanders fear her. Since she means to do as Liu Bei bids her, she must have left with him. How could the pursuers carry out your orders once they see her?" Sun Quan gripped his sword and summoned Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai. "Take this sword," he ordered them sharply, "and bring me the heads of my young sister and Liu Bei—or lose your own!" The two commanders, with one thousand men between them, joined the chase.

  Xuande laid on the whip and gave his mount free rein. The horses ran well. At night the fugitives stopped to rest in the carriage for two watches. Then they rushed on. But even as they neared the border at Chaisang, telltale dustclouds were rising not far behind them. "We are being pursued," someone reported. "What shall we do?" Xuande asked Zilong in desperation. "You go on, my lord," he replied. "I will take up the rear."

  They rounded the foot of a hill to find a body of horsemen blocking their advance. Two commanders shouted stridently, "Dismount, Liu Bei, and submit to arrest! I bear orders from Chief Commander Zhou Yu. We have long been awaiting you."

  Earlier, Zhou Yu, anticipating Xuande's escape, had sent Xu Sheng and Ding Feng ahead with three thousand men, and they had camped at this strategic point. Scouts had been sent to watch from a height, because Zhou Yu knew that Xuande had to come this way if he came by land. Xu Sheng and Ding Feng had sighted Xuande's party in the distance and were brandishing their weapons to block his escape.

  Xuande nervously swung his horse around and addressed Zilong: "Soldiers are blocking the road. More are coming from behind. There is no way out. What do we do?" "Steady, my lord," replied Zilong. "The director general placed three stratagems in those brocade bags. The first two proved most effective. I have the third one here. His instructions were to open it as a last resort. I think it is time now to look at it." He opened the little sack and presented the note to Xuande, who, after reading it, rushed to the front of Lady Sun's carriage and appealed tearfully to her, "I have something to tell you." Lady Sun replied, "Do so; hold nothing back." "When Sun Quan and Zhou Yu conspired to call me to the Southland to marry you," Xuande said, "they did not do so for your sake. All they wanted was to confine me so that they could retake Jingzhou, and after that to kill me. Truly, you were but the bait on the hook. But the threat did not deter me; I came, knowing you had a brave and manly heart and would have sympathy for me. Yesterday I heard that Lord Sun Quan intended to murder me, and I pretended there was urgent business in Jingzhou simply as a means to get home. It was my blessing that you chose to stay by me. Now Lord Sun Quan and Zhou Yu's troops are behind and before us, and no one but you can save me. If you are not willing, I prefer to die here before your eyes to requite your kindness."

  Lady Sun replied angrily, "If my brother does not know how to treat his own flesh and blood, I have no wish to see him again! This crisis I'll resolve myself." So saying, she sharply ordered her carriage brought forward. Rolling up the front curtain, she shouted to Xu Sheng and Ding Feng: "Are you two in revolt?" The two commanders hurriedly dismounted and threw down their weapons, voicing respectful greetings as they approached. "Would we dare? Chief Commander Zhou Yu posted us here to wait for Liu Bei." "Zhou Yu! That renegade, that traitor!" she cried. "What injury has the Sun family ever done you? Xuande is an imperial uncle of the great Han dynasty. And he is my husband. Both my mother and my brother were informed that I would return to Jingzhou. Does this blockade mean you're going to plunder our goods?"

  Xu Sheng and Ding Feng protested their loyalty, saying submissively, "Would we dare? Spare us your wrath, my lady, for this is none of our doing. We act on orders from the chief commander." Lady Sun rebuked them: "So you fear the chief commander more than you fear me! He has the power of life and death over you. But do I not have the power of life and death over him?" She denounced Zhou Yu roundly and then ordered her carriage moved forward. Xu Sheng and Ding Feng reflected: "Who are we underlings to dispute the princess?" And, taking careful note of the fury in Zhao Zilong's face, they finally chose to let the princess's party pass.

  The carriage had hardly advanced five or six li when the second pair of commanders, Chen Wu and Pan Zhang, arrived. Xu Sheng and Di
ng Feng gave them a full explanation. "It was a mistake to let them go," Chen and Pan said. "We were authorized by Lord Sun Quan himself to hunt them down and bring them back." The four thereupon formed a single company and raced furiously after Lady Sun and Xuande.

  Xuande soon heard the clamor of pursuit. Once more he turned to Lady Sun. "We are being pursued again. What can we do?" "Husband," she replied, "you proceed. Zilong and I will hold the rear." Xuande took three hundred men and headed for the river. Zilong wheeled round and drew up beside the carriage. His men fanned out to await the Southland generals.

  When the four generals saw Lady Sun they dismounted, clasped their hands, and stood at attention. "Chen Wu! Pan Zhang!" she cried, "your purpose in coming?" "We bear orders from our lord to request that you and Xuande return." Lady Sun regarded them sternly and spoke reproachfully: "It is all your fault, you and the likes of you; you have come between my brother and me. I am married to Xuande. This is not an elopement. My mother has sanctioned our trip back to Jingzhou. Even my brother has to conform to what ritual enjoins. Do these weapons mean you want to murder me?" The four commanders stared at one another helplessly, one thought running through their minds: "Lady Sun and Sun Quan will always be brother and sister. And she has the sanction of the state mother. A man of profound filial piety like Lord Sun could never violate his mother's wishes. Tomorrow he'll change his mind and we'll end up in the wrong! It would be better to show them a kindness." The four generals had one other thing to consider. Though Xuande was nowhere to be seen, Zhao Zilong was right before them, ready for bloody combat, eyes angry and wide-staring. At last the four generals, bowing repeatedly, withdrew; and Lady Sun ordered the servants to push on.2