Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  By this display of his heroic vein,

  Xiangru's feat at Mianchi was surpassed.7

  After Lord Guan had set out to return to Jingzhou, Lu Su said to Lü Meng, "Our plan has failed. What can we do?" "Report to Lord Sun," he answered. "Ask him to order up troops for a deciding battle." The outcome of the banquet of Lukou was promptly made known to Sun Quan, who wanted to make an all-out attack on Jingzhou. Another report came in, however: Cao Cao was coming south with an army of three hundred thousand. Sun Quan, alarmed, reversed himself. He told Lu Su not to provoke the Jingzhou forces, and he shifted his army to Hefei and Ruxu in an effort to hold back the northern enemy.

  When Cao Cao was preparing for his next southern expedition, the military adviser Fu Gan (Yancai) submitted a protest, which read:

  It is my view that a fearsome reputation is a precondition for military action, while the art of civil government depends upon a reputation for virtue. When might and virtue are in balance, true kingship can be achieved. In times past Your Enlightened Lordship used military might to dispel the great disorders in the land, succeeding nine times out of ten. Today those who have yet to accept royal authority hold the Southland and the Riverlands. These two lands are difficult to overawe, for the one enjoys the protection of the Great River, the other of steep mountains. In my humble opinion, therefore, it would be preferable to cultivate civil government and personal virtue and to lay the weapons of war to rest. Raise up scholars and put down the sword until the time to act is ripe. If today you deploy a few hundred thousand men on the bank of the Great River, all the traitors have to do to check our divine authority is hide behind their deep defenses. That will deny us the chance to display our powers and to utilize our expedient tactics. Your Heavenly might will be adversely affected. If only Your Enlightened Lordship would consider this most carefully.

  On reading this petition, Cao Cao canceled his southern expedition; instead, he established schools to which he invited men of learning. As a result, the privy counselors Wang Can, Du Xi, Wei Kai, and He He proposed honoring Cao Cao with a new title, king of Wei. This proposal was opposed by Chief of the Imperial Secretariat Xun You,8 who said, "His Excellency has already been honored as lord patriarch of Wei, and his glory enhanced by the Nine Dignities. This is the highest honor one can hope to attain. Further promotion is unjustifiable." Cao Cao, angered by Xun You's objections, said, "He is simply following in Xun Wenruo's footsteps." When Xun You heard this, he was so exasperated that he fell ill and died some ten days later. Xun You was fifty-eight at the time of his death. Cao Cao buried him with honors; he did not pursue the kingship of Wei.9

  One day Cao Cao entered the palace armed with a sword. Emperor Xian and Empress Fu were sitting together. Seeing Cao Cao enter, the Empress stood up hastily. The Emperor began to tremble. Cao Cao said, "Sun Quan and Liu Bei now rule their corners of the empire. They show the court no respect. What is to be done?" "That is entirely within Your Lordship's competence," the Emperor replied. "These words," Cao Cao retorted, "could lead outsiders to think I wrong my liege." "If you are willing to support me," said the Emperor, "it is most fortunate. Otherwise, I will be grateful to be left alone." Cao Cao glared at the Emperor, then left his presence with hate in his heart.

  The royal attendants said to the Emperor, "We have heard that the lord patriarch of Wei wants to establish himself as king of Wei. Before long he will usurp your throne." Emperor and Empress wept. "My father, Fu Wan," the Empress said, "always wanted to kill Cao Cao. Let me write to him now in secret so that he can attempt it." "Once," the Emperor said, "Dong Cheng tried to do that. He was discovered and executed. If they caught us, we would be doomed." "Day and night we sit on pins," the Empress continued. "I prefer death to a life like this. Among our eunuchs Mu Shun is loyal and true. He could deliver the letter." Thus, Mu Shun was summoned into the Empress's presence for a private conference.

  Weeping, the royal couple appealed to Mu Shun: "The traitor Cao wants to be king of Wei and may soon try for the throne. We want the Empress's father, Fu Wan, to move against Cao. But everyone works for Cao. Whom can we trust to take him a secret message from the Empress? We know your sense of loyalty and honor will not permit you to refuse us." Tearfully, Mu Shun replied, "I would gladly give my life to repay You Majesties' generosity. With your leave I shall go directly." The Empress wrote the letter and handed it to Mu Shun. He concealed it in his hair, slipped out of the forbidden chambers, and delivered it to Fu Wan.

  Fu Wan, recognizing his daughter's hand, said to the bearer, "Cao Cao's creatures are legion. We cannot act precipitately. Sun Quan and Liu Bei will have to mobilize and draw Cao Cao into the field. At this stage we must look for loyal and honorable men at court to join with us. Only united action inside and out offers any chance of success." Mu Shun replied, "Then, Your Worship, write back to the Emperor and Empress and request that secret edicts go out to the Southland and to the Riverlands summoning them to arms to punish the traitor and rescue the sovereign." Fu Wan wrote the letter, which Mu Shun carried hidden in his topknot.

  Unfortunately, Cao Cao had already been informed of Mu Shun's movements and was awaiting him at the palace gate. "Where have you been?" Cao asked Mu Shun. "The Empress was ill," he replied, "and had me fetch a physician." "Where is he?" Cao pressed. "On his way," Mu Shun answered. Cao had the man searched but, finding nothing, let him pass. Suddenly a gust of wind knocked off Mu Shun's hat; Cao called him back and examined the hat thoroughly before returning it. Using both hands Mu Shun replaced it backward, reawakening Cao Cao's suspicions. He had his men look in Mu Shun's hair and there discovered the letter calling for an alliance with Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Angered, Cao Cao had Mu Shun detained and questioned in a secret chamber. Mu Shun would not confess. That night Cao Cao surrounded Fu Wan's home with three thousand men and seized the entire family. When he found the Empress's original letter, he arrested every member of the Fu clan. The following morning he authorized Chi Lü, general of the Royal Guard, to seize the Empress's seal and cord.

  That day the Emperor was in an outer hall when he saw Chi Lü and three hundred guards enter the palace. "What is your business?" the Emperor asked. "The lord patriarch has empowered me to seize the Empress's seal," the general answered. The Emperor went weak inside, knowing the plot was discovered. When Chi Lü reached the royal couple's private quarters, the Empress had just risen. Chi Lü commanded the keepers to bring forth the seal. The Empress realized her part in the plot was known and hid herself behind the false wall of the Pepper Chamber at the rear of the main hall.10

  After a short time the imperial secretary, Hua Xin, led five hundred armed men to the rear of the palace and demanded the Empress. The palace attendants pretended not to know where she was. Hua Xin ordered the vermillion doors opened but did not find her. He then had his men break through the suspicious-looking wall; and with his own hand he pulled the Empress out by her chignon. "Spare me," she pleaded. "Plead with the lord patriarch yourself," he shouted. The Empress, disheveled and barefoot, was hustled out by two guards.

  Hua Xin, known as a talented man, was a close friend of Bing Yuan and of Guan Ning. At the time the trio was called "The Dragon" ; Hua Xin was the head, Bing Yuan the stomach, and Guan Ning the tail. One day Guan Ning and Hua Xin turned up a piece of gold while planting some garden vegetables. Guan Ning continued working, but Hua Xin picked it up, examined it, and threw it down again. Another day, Guan Ning and Hua Xin were reading together, when they heard a commotion outside as a man of importance passed by their gate in his carriage. Guan Ning remained seated and did not stir, but Hua Xin put down his book to look. From then on, Guan Ning held a low opinion of Hua Xin and eventually ended the friendship. In later years Guan Ning secluded himself in a storied building in remote Liaodong. He always wore a white cap; and he lived and slept upstairs, never letting his feet touch the ground, thereby demonstrating that he had never served the kingdom of Wei. Hua Xin, however, entered Cao Cao's service after leaving Sun Quan. Such was his story u
p to the day he arrested the Empress. A poet of later times lamented Hua Xin's conduct:

  Hua Xin furthered Cao Cao's foulest scheme:

  Breaking down the wall, he seized the queen.

  For one day spent, Cao's cruelty to abet:

  A name forever cursed, "Dragon Pate."

  Another poet praised Guan Ning:

  Liaodong still keeps historic Guan Ning House;

  The name alone survives, no dweller there.

  He scorned the wealth and fame that Hua Xin craved,

  Who never had the "White Cap's" manly air.

  Hua Xin marched the Empress to the outer hall. The Emperor saw her, embraced her, and wept. "The lord patriarch's order must be executed with dispatch," the imperial secretary snapped. Weeping, the Empress said to the Emperor, "Our life together is done." "My time, too, is uncertain," he replied. The guards removed the Empress. The Emperor beat his breast in despair. Seeing the general of the Royal Guard beside him, the Emperor said, "Lord Chi, how could such a thing come to pass?" He then collapsed in tears. Chi Lü ordered his men to assist the Emperor back into the palace.

  Hua Xin took Empress Fu before Cao Cao. "I treated you all with sincerity," he ranted, "yet you planned to murder me. I must kill you first!" He ordered his men to beat her to death.11 He then removed the Empress's two sons from the palace and had them poisoned. That evening he had Fu Wan, Mu Shun, and more than two hundred of their clansmen executed in public. Those in office and out were terror-stricken. This occurred during the eleventh month of the nineteenth year of Jian An (a. d. 215). A poet has left these verses lamenting Cao Cao's deed:

  Once in an age a man so fell and cruel! —

  Though loyal and true, Fu Wan could not oppose.

  We sorrow for the sundered king and queen:

  A better life a common couple knows.

  After the loss of his Empress, Emperor Xian did not eat for many days. Cao Cao went to see him and said, "Your Majesty, be free of care. Your servant has no disloyal thoughts. My daughter is already a part of your harem, a woman both worthy and filial. She should occupy the Empress's place." How could the Emperor say no? On the first day of the first month of Jian An 20 (a. d. 215), on the celebration of the new year, Cao Cao's daughter, the concubine Cao, became the Empress of Han. And no courtier dared object.

  Cao Cao's power and influence continued to grow. He summoned all the major ministers and officials to discuss absorbing the Southland and conquering the Riverlands. Jia Xu said, "We should recall generals Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren to take part in these discussions." Cao Cao immediately sent for them. Cao Ren arrived first and went straight to Cao Cao. But Cao had just lain down after drinking. Xu Chu, holding a sword, was guarding the entrance to the room and would not let Cao Ren pass. "How dare you block a member of the clan," Cao Ren cried angrily. "Though you are a kinsman," replied Xu Chu, "your office is to control the outer regions; mine, though I am unrelated, to guard the inner sanctum. I cannot admit you when His Lordship lies drunk in his chamber." Cao Ren backed down. Cao Cao, hearing of the incident afterwards, exclaimed, "Xu Chu—a loyal servant indeed!"

  A few days later Xiahou Dun arrived and the discussion on the campaigns began. Xiahou Dun said, "Neither Wu nor Shu can be attacked hastily. Attack Zhang Lu of Hanzhong first, and our victorious troops will subdue Shu easily." "Exactly my thinking," replied Cao Cao. And so troops were ordered up for a western campaign. Indeed:

  First he carried out an evil plot against the weakling Emperor,

  Then he sent a puissant host to sweep the regions west.

  Would Cao Cao's imperial designs succeed?

  Read on.

  67

  Cao Cao Conquers Hanzhong;

  Zhang Liao Prevails at Xiaoyao Ford

  For the western campaign Cao Cao divided his army into three. Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He had the van; Cao Cao led his commanders in the center; Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun had the rear, guarding and distributing the supplies.

  Cao Cao's movements were soon reported in Hanzhong, where Zhang Lu and his brother Wei discussed ways of repulsing their enemy. Zhang Wei said, "Yangping Pass is Hanzhong's strongest point; I'll fortify a dozen positions in the hills and woods on either side of it to oppose Cao's army. Once there, brother, dispatch grain from Hanning to meet my needs." Zhang Lu agreed and sent generals Yang Ang and Yang Ren to accompany his brother. The force reached Yangping Pass and built the camps.

  Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He reached the pass and learned of the defensive preparations. They encamped fifteen li away and allowed their exhausted soldiers to rest. Suddenly the rear of their camp was ablaze; the two Hanzhong generals had moved in and struck. Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He took to their horses as troops stormed in from all sides. Badly defeated, Cao's army beat a retreat. Cao Cao received the two generals irately: "Two veteran commanders like you didn't know that 'troops tired by a long march must expect a raid on their camp'? How could you be so lax?" He would have executed the two to exemplify martial law but was dissuaded by the appeals of their peers.

  The next day Cao Cao himself took the van. He viewed the formidable hills and dense woods and realized that their unknown pathways hid many dangers, so he returned to camp. To commanders Xu Chu and Xu Huang, Cao Cao said, "I would never have brought the army here had I known how treacherous the terrain is." "We are here now, my lord," replied Xu Chu, "do not shrink from the task ahead." The following day Cao rode forth with the two commanders to inspect Zhang Wei's fortifications. Rounding a hill, the three horsemen caught sight of Wei's positions in the distance. Pointing with his whip, Cao said, "Such well-built defense works will be difficult to break down." As he spoke, they heard a cry from behind, and arrows rained down on them as Yang Ang and Yang Ren closed in. Cao panicked. Xu Chu shouted to Xu Huang, "I will stand off the enemy. You protect His Lordship." Raising his sword, Chu charged ahead, strenuously opposing the Hanzhong generals. Overwhelmed by Xu Chu's charge, Yang Ang and Yang Ren retreated, followed by their men. Xu Huang hustled Cao Cao around a slope. There a friendly force under Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He, alerted by the commotion, ha come to their rescue. The reinforcement troops beat Yang Ang and Yang Ren back and got Cao Cao safely to camp. Cao Cao rewarded the four commanders handsomely.

  After this incident the two armies held each other at bay for more than fifty days. Finally Cao Cao ordered a retreat. Jia Xu said, "The enemy's strength remains to be tested. For what reason are you withdrawing, Your Lordship;’" "They seem to me," Cao replied, "to be in full readiness every day. Victory is doubtful for us. I thought a retreat would make them careless; then we could have our light cavalry swoop down on their rear. That way we will certainly win." "Your Excellency," Jia Xu replied, "your ingenuity is unfathomable." Thereupon Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He were ordered to take three thousand light horsemen each around behind Yangping Pass while Cao Cao had the main camp completely pulled up.

  Yang Ang, hearing of the retreat, proposed an attack. But Yang Ren said, "Cao Cao has an infinite number of tricks. We can't pursue him before we know the actual situation." Yang Ang, however, said, "I'll go alone, if you won't," thus overriding Ren's strenuous objections. Ang threw all five of his armed camps into the assault, leaving only a small force behind. It was a day of dreadful fog and mist, widespread and dense; even face-to-face the soldiers could not see each other. After marching a good distance, Ang had to call a halt and bivouac.

  Meanwhile, Xiahou Yuan, having made a shortcut behind the hills, watched the heavy fog settle. Hearing the sounds of men and horses, he feared ambush and pressed his advance; unwittingly, he came to Yang Ang's base camps. The guards, assuming the hoof-beats meant the return of Ang, opened the gates. Cao's troops poured in and, finding the camps empty, burnt everything down. The men left guarding the five camps fled for their lives.

  The fog lifted. Yang Ren brought his troops to the rescue and fought briefly with Xiahou Yuan; but Zhang He attacked Ren from behind. Yang Ren managed to fight his way to safety in Nanzheng.1 When Yang Ang tried to re
turn, he found his bases occupied by Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He; and Cao Cao's main force was coming on swiftly. Hemmed in all around, Yang Ang tried to break through the enemy lines, but Zhang He confronted him and killed him after a brief struggle. Ang's defeated troops returned to Yangping Pass, expecting to find Zhang Wei. Wei, however, had already learned of the flight of the two Yangs and the loss of the camps, so he had abandoned the pass himself and dashed for safety. Thus Cao Cao took possession of the pass and the campsites.

  Zhang Lu was furious when Zhang Wei and Yang Ren informed him of the losses. He wanted to execute Yang Ren, but Ren said, "I pleaded with Yang Ang not to go after Cao's men. He refused to listen. Hence the defeat. Let me have another detachment to challenge the enemy. I'll kill Cao Cao for you or gladly face any consequences that the military code prescribes." Zhang Lu accepted his written pledge; and Yang Ren camped at a distance from Nanzheng with twenty thousand men.

  Before advancing on Nanzheng, Cao Cao had Xiahou Yuan explore the roads. Yuan and his five thousand men met up with Yang Ren, and the two armies squared off. Ren sent out Chang Qi, a lieutenant commander. Xiahou Yuan engaged him and killed him in a brief encounter. Yang Ren himself then came forth, spear held high, and fought Yuan more than thirty bouts; neither prevailed. Yuan feigned defeat and fled, Ren in pursuit. Wheeling about, Yuan used the trailing sword maneuver and slashed Ren to pieces. Yang Ren's soldiers, badly beaten, went back to their base.

  As soon as Cao Cao found out that Xiahou Yuan had killed Yang Ren, he advanced in force and camped before Nanzheng. Zhang Lu desperately called together his counselors. Yan Pu said, "I know one man who can hold off Cao's commanders." Zhang Lu asked who he was. "Pang De from Nan'an," Yan Pu replied. "He surrendered to Your Lordship along with Ma Chao. Afterward, when Ma Chao defected to the Riverlands, Pang De fell ill and never went. He is still a beneficiary of Your Lordship's generous care. Why not have him go?"