Three Kingdoms Romance

by Guanzhong Luo

  That night three thousand soldiers surrounded the dwelling of Fu Wan, who was arrested with all his family. Searching the house, they found the first letter in the handwriting of the Empress. Fu Wan and his family were then consigned to a gaol.

  At dawn, a party of Imperial Guards, under Chi Lu, bearing ensigns of authority, entered the Palace with orders to take away the seal of the Empress. On the way they met the Emperor, who asked the reason for a company of armed guards being in the Palace.

  “I have orders from the Duke of Wei to get the Empress' seal,” said Chi Lu.

  The Emperor grew alarmed. When Chi Lu reached the apartments of the Empress, she had just risen. Chi Lu ordered to take the seal of the Empress and went away.

  As soon as the Empress knew of this, she recognized her danger and hid herself in the hollow walls of her private apartments behind one of the ceremonial halls. She had not been long in hiding when Hua Xin with a company of five hundred armed soldiers appeared and asked where she was. The palace people said they did not know. The red doors of the hall were burst open, and Hua Xin looked in, but he saw no lady there. It occurred to him where she might be hidden, and he ordered his men to break open the wall. With his own hands, he laid hold of the lady's hair and dragged her forth.

  “Spare my life!” pleaded she.

  “You may say what you have to say to the Duke,” cried he.

  She pulled down her hair and kicked off her shoes, but a couple of soldiers pushed her along in front of them outside.

  It may be said here that this Hua Xin had a reputation for learning. He and two others, Bing Yuan and Guan Ning, all good friends, made a little coterie which was known as “The Dragon”. Hua Xin was the “head”; Bing Yuan, the “belly”; and Guan Ning, the “tail”. One day Guan Ning and Hua Xin were hoeing in their garden to grow some vegetables, when they turned up an ingot of gold. Guan Ning went on with his labors without giving a second glance at the find, but Hua Xin picked it up. After regarding it a moment, he threw it away again.

  Another day Guan Ning and Hua Xin were reading together when there arose a great shouting outside the window of the study. A minister from the Palace was passing. Guan Ning took no notice, but kept his eyes on his book; Hua Xin rose and went to the window. For this, Guan Ning despised his companion and the two parted for good. Sometime after, in the disturbance of the empire, Guan Ning fled into Liaodong, where he led the life of hermit. He wore a white cap and lived in the upper part of a house, never touching the ground with his feet. He would have nothing to do with Cao Cao and would not enter his service.

  But Hua Xin led a totally different life. For a time he was with Sun Quan; then he went over to Cao Cao and served him. And here he is found actually laying hands upon the Empress.

  His conduct in this particular is the subject of a poem:

  That was a dastardly thing that Hua Xin did,

  When he broke don the wall where the Empress hid

  And dragged her forth by the hair.

  He lent his aid to a foul, foul crime

  And execrations throughout all time,

  Have been, and shall be, his share.

  A poet also wrote concerning Guan Ning:

  East of Liaodong, so stories tell

  Is Guan Ning's tower, where long he dwelt.

  Ignoble wealth was Hua Xin's quest,

  The hermit's simple life was best.

  As Hua Xin hurried the unhappy woman out of the hall, the Emperor saw her. He went over and clasped her to his bosom, weeping.

  Hua Xin tried to force her onward, saying, “The Duke of Wei ordered no delay!”

  “My doom is sealed,” wept the Empress.

  “And I know not when my turn will come,” sighed the Emperor.

  The soldiers hustled the Empress onward, leaving His Majesty beating his breast in despair.

  “Can it be that such things happen in the world?” cried the Emperor to Chi Lu, who stood by.

  And the Emperor swooned. Chi Lu made the courtiers pick him up, and they bore him into the Palace.

  Meanwhile, the unhappy Empress had been taken before Cao Cao.

  “I have dealt well with you,” said he angrily, “and you requited me by plotting my murder. It is the death of one of us, I see.”

  He ordered the executioners to beat her till she died. After this, he went into the Palace, seized her two sons and had them poisoned. In the evening of the same day the whole households of Mu Shun and Fu Wan were put to death publicly. Such terrible deeds spread terror everywhere. They happened in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year of Rebuilt Tranquillity (AD 214).

  As Cao Cao stands first in cruelty,

  So stands Fu Wan in loyalty.

  A married pair of low estate,

  Had not been torn apart by fate.

  The Emperor grieved bitterly over the loss of his consort, and in his despair refused all food. Cao Cao did not wish him to die of starvation and loneliness, so he proposed his own daughter as consort.

  “Be not sad;” said Cao Cao, “thy servant is no rebel. My daughter is already in your palace as a secondary lady. She is wise and dutiful, fit to be your consort and occupy the first rank.”

  Emperor Xian dared not refuse, and therefore at the new year (AD 215), in the time of the festivities, Lady Cao's name was inscribed on the dynastic rolls as Empress. And no one of the courtiers dared protest.

  Wherefore Cao Cao became even more powerful. But it pleased him not to have rivals in the land, so he again thought of subduing Liu Bei and Sun Quan.

  Jia Xu proposed, saying, “Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren, who are serving on the frontiers, should be called to give their advice.”

  They were sent for, and Cao Ren was the first to arrive. As a relative, he felt he had the right to see the great minister without delay and went directly to the palace.

  But it happened that Cao Cao had been drinking heavily, and his faithful henchman, Xu Chu, would not admit the new arrival.

  “I am of the family,” said Cao Ren, angry at the hindrance. “Dare you stop me?”

  “General, you may be a relative, but here you are but an officer from the frontier. I am of little account, but a duty lies on me here in the palace. Our lord is overcome with wine and asleep, and I dare not allow you to enter.”

  The refusal came to Cao Cao's knowledge, and he commended the loyalty of Xu Chu.

  Soon after, Xiahou Dun came and was called to the council.

  Xiahou Dun gave his opinion, saying, “The two rivals should be left until Zhang Lu of Hanzhong has been subdued. The great army that can overcome Zhang Lu will be in condition to attack the Western Land of Rivers, and it will be conquered without difficulty.”

  The advice coincided with Cao Cao's own idea, and so he prepared an expedition for the west.

  By a crime he showed his power over a feeble king;

  This done, at once he hastened to destroy his neighbor.

  What happened will be told in later chapters.

  CHAPTER 67. Cao Cao Conquers Hanzhong;Zhang Liao Spreads Terror At Flageolet Ford.

  The expedition against the Eastern Land of Rivers went out in three divisions. Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He were Leaders of the Van; Cao Cao with his commanders marched in the center; and Cao Ren brought up the rear. Xiahou Dun was in charge of the commissariat.

  The spies soon carried the news into Hanzhong, and Zhang Lu called in his brother Zhang Wei to consult how to meet the attack.

  Said Zhang Wei, “The strategic point to hold is Yangping Pass, and there should be ten stockades there with the forest and hills to support them. You, my brother, should make your depot of supplies at Hanning.”

  Thereupon two generals, Yang Ang and Yan Ren, were sent with Zhang Wei to the Pass, and they built ten stockades.

  Soon Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He arrived and learned the Pass had prepared a defense. They camped at a point five miles away. The soldiers were fatigued after the long march, and all lay down to rest without placing proper guards.


  Suddenly the camp was attacked in the rear by Yang Ang and Yan Ren from different points. Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He mounted quickly and tried to beat off the attackers, but the enemy poured in all round, and their army suffered great loss. They returned to the main body to tell of their defeat, and their chief abused them for their want of care.

  “Old soldiers like you should have known better and taken precautions against a raid of the camp when the enemy knew your soldiers were exhausted by a long march.”

  Cao Cao even desired to put them to death as a warning, but their fellow-officers interceded and he spared them. Soon Cao Cao himself marched in the van. Then he saw the dangerous and evil nature of the place, with its thick growth of trees; and as he knew nothing of the roads and was fearful of an ambush, he returned to his camp.

  Calling up his two leaders, Xu Chu and Xu Huang, he said, “Had I known the dangerous nature of the place, I would never have come.”

  Xu Chu replied, “The soldiers are here now, my lord, and you cannot recoil before the hardships.”

  Next day Cao Cao with only Xu Chu and Xu Huang rode out to reconnoiter the enemy's camp. As they rode over the hills, Cao Cao pointed out the position with his whip and said, “It will be very difficult to reduce a place as strong as this.”

  Just then there arose a shout in their rear, and a shower of arrows fell about them. Yang Ang and Yan Ren were attacking and the danger became great. “Friend Xu Huang, you look after our lord!” cried Xu Chu, “I can hold the enemy.”

  Xu Chu galloped out, and the two leaders could not stand Xu Chu and took to flight, while their troops scattered. In the meantime Xu Huang led his master over the hills. Soon he met an army of soldiers led by Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He, who had heard the sound of fighting and had come to the rescue, and Cao Cao got back safely to camp. The four generals were rewarded.

  For fifty days the two armies held each other at bay without coming to a fight. At the end of this time, orders were given to retire in the camp of Cao Cao.

  “We have not tried the strength of the enemy,” said Jia Xu. “You should not retire, my lord.”

  “I see that they are always on the alert,” said Cao Cao. “I am only retiring to put them off their guard. By and by I will send some light horse to attack their rear. I shall defeat them then.”

  “Ah! Your skill is unfathomable!” cried Jia Xu.

  Three thousand horsemen led by Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He got round behind the Yangping Pass by unfrequented roads, while Cao Cao broke up his camp and led his main body backward.

  When Yang Ang heard of the retreat, he thought it would be a good chance to attack, but Yan Ren opposed it, saying, “Cao Cao is full of ruses. The occasion is unclear; we should not lead an attack.”

  Yang Ang was willful and said, “I shall go; you may come or not, as you wish.”

  In spite of the protestations of his colleague, Yang Ang marched, taking with him the soldiers of five camps and leaving only a few defenders. The day he set out was very foggy, so that one could hardly see his neighbor's face, and soon the force got into difficulties and could not advance. They bivouacked on the road.

  Now, Xiahou Yuan was out with a reconnoitering force behind the hills when they heard the voices of troops and the neighing of horses. In the dense fog they could see nothing; but fearing an ambush, they hastened to retire. Somehow they lost their way and presently stumbled on the deserted camp of Yang Ang. The few defenders thought their comrades had returned, so they threw open the gates to let the troops of Cao Cao in. They found an empty camp, and they raised a great blaze, which frightened those few defenders in the other camps so that they fled.

  As soon as the fog cleared, Yan Ren came to the rescue. But as Yan Ren and Xiahou Yuan were fighting, Zhang He suddenly appeared and attacked from the rear. Between two armies, Yan Ren forced his way through and quickly fled toward Nanzheng.

  By and by, when Yang Ang returned, he found his camp in the possession of Cao Cao's troops. Soon Cao Cao's main army came up, and Yang Ang was between two forces. There seemed no other way but to make a dash for it. Falling in with Zhang He, the two engaged, and Yang Ang fell. Those who escaped carried the news of the disaster to Zhang Wei, who abandoned Yangping Pass and fled.

  So the invaders took possession of the Pass, and its late defenders, Zhang Wei and Yan Ren, had to go back and report failure. Zhang Wei laid the blame on his generals, saying the Pass could not be held after its supporting positions had been lost. Zhang Lu threatened to behead Yan Ren for his failure.

  But Yan Ren said, “Yang Ang did not listen to my advice, and the defeat followed. Now I volunteer to make another attack. If I fail to take Cao Cao's head, I will abide by the consequences without protest.” Zhang Lu took his formal pledge to succeed, gave him twenty thousand troops and sent him away. Yan Ren marched to Nanzheng and made a stockade.

  Before Cao Cao made any further advance, he sent Xiahou Yuan, with five thousand troops, to reconnoiter the road, and they fell in with the force led by Yan Ren. Both sides drew up their battle array. From Yan Ren's side went out one general named Chang Qi to engage Xiahou Yuan. Before the fourth bout was fought, Xiahou Yuan disposed of Chang Qi. Then Yan Ren set his spear and rode to the front. They two fought near forty bouts and neither could claim victory. Then Xiahou Yuan pretended defeat and fled. The other rushed in pursuit. The fugitive suddenly employed the “swinging-horse stab” and killed his pursuer. Yan Ren's troops ran away.

  As soon as Cao Cao knew of the death of Yan Ren, he brought up his army, marched straightway to Nanzheng and camped.

  Zhang Lu became alarmed and called a council.

  “I can propose a man able to stand against the best leader of the enemy,” said Yan Pu.

  “Who is he?” asked Zhang Lu.

  “Pang De of Nanan. Pang De surrendered at the same time as Ma Chao, but could not go with Ma Chao into Yiazhou as he was ill. You have treated him generously; he will save you.”

  Pang De was summoned. He came, and Zhang Lu loaded him with gifts and gave him a force of ten thousand troops, with which he marched and camped three miles from the city, near the besieging force.

  His camp made, Pang De rode out and challenged. Now Cao Cao, remembering Pang De's boldness at the battle of River Wei Bridge, was desirous of winning the warrior for himself, so he told his generals, saying, “Pang De is a bold general of Xiliang formerly serving under Ma Chao. Though he is now under Zhang Lu, that is not his real wish. I want to win him over. So you should try to weary him by prolonging the fights, and so make him captive.”

  Wherefore first rode out Zhang He to answer the challenger. He fought a few bouts and returned. Then Xiahou Yuan did the same thing. So did Xu Huang. Lastly went Xu Chu, who kept up the fight to half a hundred bouts before he retired. Still Pang De showed no signs of fatigue nor of fear, and all those who had fought with him praised his prowess and skill.

  “If only I could win him over to my side!” said Cao Cao longingly.

  Said Jia Xu, “I know one of Zhang Lu's subordinates, Yang Song. He is avaricious and open to bribes. You might send him secret presents and get him to slander Pang De to his master so as to weaken Pang De's position.”

  “But how can one get at this man? He is in Nanzheng.”

  “In the next battle, pretend defeat, flee, and let Pang De take possession of this camp. Return in the night in force and drive him out, and he must retreat into the city. Let one of our own people with a persuasive tongue mingle with his troops, disguised as one of his soldiers, and so gain entrance into the city.”

  A subtle agent was found, and goodly gifts were his in advance, and he was entrusted with a golden breastplate as a bribe. He put it on and over it put on the dress of an ordinary soldier of Hanzhong. And he made his way quietly to a point on the road along which the soldiers of Hanzhong would retreat into the city. There he waited.

  Next day, two parties under Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He were sent to lie in ambush, and Xu Huang was sent to challenge, b
ut with orders to be defeated. The scheme went well, and as Pang De came on to smite, Cao Cao's army retired before Pang De till he found himself at their very camp. And therein he entered and was exceedingly pleased to find fodder and forage in great quantities.

  Having sent off a messenger to his chief, Pang De spread a feast in celebration of the victory; and when night came on they slept. But about the second watch there was an alarm from three directions, and the camp was threatened by three forces: Xu Chu and Xu Huang attacking in the center, Zhang He from the left, and Xiahou Yuan from the right. It was the night-attack arranged by Cao Cao, and Pang De could not make any defense. He got to horse, cut his way through, and made for the city. With the attackers in close pursuit, Pang De reached the gate, got it opened, and rushed in.

  And the false soldier got in amid the confusion. He made his way quickly to Yang Song's residence and saw him. He told Yang Song, saying, “The Great Prime Minister, Duke of Wei, knows you by reputation and holds you in great esteem. And as a token thereof he has sent you his golden breastplate and a confidential letter as well.”

  Yang Song took it all in, read the letter, and said, “I will reply by and by, and the Duke of Wei needs feel no anxiety for I shall find a means of proving my gratitude. You may return.”

  Soon after, Yang Song went to see Zhang Lu and told him, saying, “Pang De has been defeated because he has been bribed by Cao Cao.”

  Forthwith Zhang Lu summoned his general, abused him, and threatened to put him to death. Yan Pu, however, protested and proposed to test Pang De in another encounter.

  Zhang Lu then said, “Tomorrow, if you lose, I will take your head!”

  Pang De retired full of resentment.

  The next day Cao Cao attacked, and Pang De went out to repel him. Cao Cao sent out Xu Chu, but bade him pretend defeat. When Pang De pursued, Cao Cao rode toward the hills, where he halted and presently got speech with Pang De, calling out, “Pang De! Why not surrender?”

  But Pang De thought within himself that to capture Cao Cao would be a fine exploit, so he boldly faced his escort and rode up the hills. But there arose a great shouting as if heaven and earth were clashing together, and he and his followers went headlong into ditches and pits that had been dug. Out flew Cao Cao's troops with ropes and hooks, and Pang De was a prisoner.