Three Kingdoms Romance

by Guanzhong Luo

  Some of the generals went to see Cao Ren, who said, “No ordinary person's strength can fend off today's danger. If we can hold out till nightfall, we may escape by boat. We shall lose the city, but we shall save our skins.”

  But Man Chong interposed before the boats could be got ready. He said, “No! No! Though the force of these mountainous waters is great, we only have to wait ten days or so, and the flood will have passed. Though Guan Yu has not assaulted this city, yet he has sent another army to Jiaxia, which indicates he dares not advance lest we should fall upon his rear. Remember, too, that to retire from this city means the abandonment of everything south of the Yellow River. Therefore I decide that you defend this place.”

  Cao Ren saluted Man Chong as he concluded his harangue, saying, “What a tremendous error I should have committed had it not been for you, Sir!”

  Then riding his white charger he went up on the city walls, gathered his officers around him, and pledged himself not to surrender.

  “The Prince's command being to defend this city, I shall defend it to the last. And I shall put to death anyone who even mentions abandonment,” said he.

  “And we desire to defend it to out last gasp,” chimed in his officers.

  Then they saw to it that the means of offense were good. Many hundreds of archers and crossbowmen were stationed on the wall and kept watch night and day. The old and the young of ordinary people were made to carry earth and stones to strengthen the wall.

  After some ten days the flood was at an end. Then the news of Guan Yu's success against the Wei campaign got abroad, and the terror of his name spread wider and wider. About the same time, too, his second son, Guan Xing, came to visit his father in camp. Guan Yu thought this a good opportunity to send his report of success to Capital Chengdu and entrusted to Guan Xing a dispatch mentioning each officer's services and requesting promotion for them. Guan Xing accordingly took leave of his father and left.

  After Guan Xing's departure, the army was divided into two halves, one under Guan Yu to attack Fankou, and the other to go to Jiaxia. One day Guan Yu rode over to the north gate. Halting his steed, he pointed with his whip toward the defenders on the wall, and called out, “You lot of rats will not give in then! What are you waiting for?”

  Cao Ren, who was among his soldiers on the wall, saw that Guan Yu had no armor on, so he ordered his men to shoot. The archers and bowmen at once sent a great flight of arrows and bolts that way. Guan Yu hastily pulled the reins to retire, but an arrow struck him in the arm. The shock of the blow made him turn in the saddle, and he fell from his horse.

  Just now a mighty army perished

  By the river's overflow;

  A crossbow bolt from the city wall

  Lays a valiant warrior low.

  What further befell Guan Yu will be told in the next chapter.

  CHAPTER 75. Guan Yu Has A Scraped-Bone Surgery; Lu Meng In White Robe Crosses The River.

  At the sight of Guan Yu falling from his charger, Cao Ren led his army out of the city to follow up with an attack, but Guan Ping drove him off and escorted his father back to camp. There the arrow was extracted, but the arrow head had been poisoned. The wound was deep, and the poison had penetrated to the bone. The right arm was discolored and swollen and useless.

  Guan Ping consulted with the other leaders and proposed, saying, “As fighting is impossible for the moment, we should withdraw to Jingzhou, where my father's wound can be treated.”

  Having decided upon this, they went to see the wounded warrior.

  “What have you come for?” asked Guan Yu when they entered.

  “Considering that you, Sir, have been wounded in the right arm, we fear the result of the excitement of battle. Moreover, you can hardly take part in a fight just now, and we therefore propose that the army retire till you are recovered.”

  Guan Yu replied angrily, “I am on the point of taking the city, and if I succeed, I must press forward to Capital Xuchang, and destroy that brigand Cao Cao, so that the Hans may be restored to their own. Think you that I can vitiate the whole campaign because of a slight wound? Would you dishearten the army?”

  Guan Ping and his colleagues said no more, but somewhat unwillingly withdrew.

  Seeing that their leader would not retire and the wound showed no signs of healing, the various generals inquired far and near for a good surgeon to attend their general.

  One day a person arrived in a small ship and, having landed and come up to the gate of the camp, was led in to see Guan Ping. The visitor wore a square-cut cap and a loose robe. In his hand he carried a small black bag.

  He said, “My name is Hua Tuo, and I belong to Qiao. I have heard of the wound sustained by the famous general and have come to heal it.”

  “Surely you must be the physician who treated Zhou Tai in the South Land,” said Guan Ping.

  “I am.”

  Taking with him the other generals, Guan Ping went in to see his father. Guan Yu was engaging in a game of chess with Ma Liang, although his arm was very painful. But Guan Yu kept up appearances so as not to discourage the troops. When they told him that a physician had come, he consented to see him.

  Hua Tuo was introduced, asked to take a seat and, after the tea of ceremony, was shown the injured arm. “This was caused by an arrow,” said the doctor. “There is poison in the wound, and it has penetrated to the bone. Unless the wound is soon treated, the arm will become useless.”

  “What do you propose to do?” asked Guan Yu.

  “I know how to cure the wound, but I think you will be afraid of the remedy.”

  “Am I likely to be afraid of that when I am not even afraid of death? Death is only a return home after all.”

  Then Hua Tuo said, “This is what I shall do. In a private room I shall erect a post with a steel ring attached. I shall ask you, Sir, to insert your arm in the ring, and I shall bind it firmly to the post. Then I shall cover your head with a quilt so that you cannot see, and with a scalpel I shall open up the flesh right down to the bone. Then I shall scrape away the poison. This done, I shall dress the wound with a certain preparation, sew it up with a thread, and there will be no further trouble. But I think you may quail at the severity of the treatment.”

  Guan Yu smiled.

  “It all sounds easy enough;” said he, “but why the post and the ring?”

  Refreshments were then served; and after a few cups of wine, the warrior extended his arm for the operation. With his other hand he went on with his game of chess. Meanwhile the surgeon prepared his knife and called a lad to hold a basin beneath the limb.

  “I am just going to cut; do not start,” said Hua Tuo.

  “When I consented to undergo the treatment, did you think I was afraid of pain?”

  The surgeon then performed the operation as he had pre-described. He found the bone much discolored, but he scraped it clean. When the knife went over the surface of the bone and made horrible sounds, all those near covered their eyes and turned pale. But Guan Yu went on with his game, only drinking a cup of wine now and again, and his face betrayed no sign of pain. When the wound had been cleansed, sewn up and dressed, the patient stood up smiling and said, “This arm is now as good as it ever was; there is no pain. Indeed, Master, you are a marvel.”

  “I have spent my life in the art;” said Hua Tuo, “but I have never seen such a patient as you, Sir. You are as if not from the earth but heaven.”

  Here as surgeons, there physicians, all boast their skill;

  Bitter few are those that cure one when one's really ill.

  As for superhuman valor rivals Guan Yu had none,

  So for holy touch in healing Hua Tuo stood alone.

  When the cure was well advanced, Guan Yu gave a fine banquet in honor of Hua Tuo and offered him a fee of a hundred ounces of gold. But Hua Tuo declined it, saying, “I had come to treat you, O General, from admiration of your great virtue and not for money. Although your wound is cured, you must be careful of your health, and especially avoi
d all excitement for a hundred days, when you will be as well as ever you were.”

  Then Hua Tuo, having prepared dressings for the wound, took his leave, refusing fees to the very last.

  Having captured Yu Jin and accomplished the death of Pang De, Guan Yu became more famous and more fear-inspiring through the whole empire than even before. Cao Cao called together his advisers to help him decide upon what he should do.

  Said Cao Cao, “I must acknowledge this Guan Yu as the one man who, in skill and valor, overtops the whole world. Lately he has obtained possession of Jingzhou and the territory near it, and has so become very terrible. He is a tiger with wings added. Pang De is no more; Yu Jin is his prisoner; the armies of Wei have lost their morale; and if he led his armies here, Xuchang, we should be helpless. I can only think of avoiding the peril by removal of the capital. What think you?”

  “No; do not take that step,” said Sima Yi, rising to reply. “Yu Jin and all the others you lost were victims of the flood and slain in battle. These losses do no harm at all to your great plan. The Suns and Lius are no longer friends since Guan Yu has accomplished his desire. You may send a messenger into Wu to foment the quarrel and cause Sun Quan to send his armies to attack the army of Guan Yu from the rear, promising that, when things are tranquil, you will reward the south to Sun Quan. In this way you will relieve Fankou.”

  Here Minister Jiang Ji said, “Sima Yi speaks well, and the messenger should lose no time. Do not move the capital or send an army.”

  Cao Cao therefore did not carry out his first proposal. But he was sad at the loss of Yu Jin, and spoke of him affectionately, “Yu Jin had followed me faithfully for thirty years, yet in that moment of truth he was less than Pang De.”

  It was necessary to send someone with the letters to Wu and also to find another leader willing to face Guan Yu. Cao Cao had not long to wait for the latter, as an officer stepped out from the ranks of those in waiting and offered himself. It was Xu Huang.

  Xu Huang's offer was accepted, and he was given fifty thousand of veterans. Lu Qian was sent as his second, and the army marched to Yangling Slope, where they halted to see if any support was coming from the southeast.

  Sun Quan fell in with the scheme of Cao Cao as soon as he had read Cao Cao's letter. He at once prepared a reply for the messenger to take back, and then gathered his officers, civil and military, to consult. Zhang Zhao was the first speaker.

  “We know Guan Yu has captured one leader and slain another. This has added greatly to his fame and reputation. Cao Cao was going to move the capital rather than risk an attack. We also know that Fankou is in imminent danger. Cao Cao has asked for our help; but when he has gained his end, I doubt whether he will hold to his promise.”

  Before Sun Quan had replied they announced the arrival of Lu Meng, who had come in a small ship from Lukou with a special message. He was at once called in and asked what it was.

  Said Lu Meng, “The armies of Guan Yu being absent at Fankou, the opportunity should be taken to attack Jingzhou.”

  “But I wish to attack Xuzhou in the north; what of this plan?” said Sun Quan.

  “It would be better to attack Jingzhou, and so get control of the Great River. Cao Cao is far away to the north and too occupied to regard the east. Xuzhou is weakly held and could be taken easily, but the lie of the land favors the use of an army rather than a navy force. If you capture it, it will not be easy to hold; but once you hold Jingzhou, you can evolve other schemes.” “Really, my desire was to attack Jingzhou, but I wished to hear what you would say to the other plan. Now, Sir, make me a plan speedily and I will act upon it.”

  So Lu Meng took his leave and went back to Lukou. But soon they heard that Guan Yu had had beacon towers erected at short distances all along the Great River, and that the army of Jingzhou was being put into most efficient condition.

  “If this is so, it is hard to make a plan that will ensure success,” said Lu Meng. “I have already advised my master to attack Jingzhou, but I am unable to meet this complication.”

  Therefore he made illness an excuse to stay at home, and sent to inform Sun Quan, who was very distressed at the news.

  Then said Lu Xun, “The illness is feigned; he is quite well.”

  “If you know that so well, go and see,” said Sun Quan.

  Away went Lu Xun and speedily arrived at Lukou, where he saw Lu Meng, who indeed appeared to be in perfect health. Nor did his face bear any signs of recent illness.

  “The Marquis of Wu has sent me to inquire after your honorable complaint,” said Lu Xun.

  “How distressed I am that the state of my wretched carcass has caused the Marquis the inconvenience of inquiring” replied Lu Meng.

  “The Marquis placed a very heavy responsibility on your shoulders, but you are not making the best use of the opportunity. However, what is the real origin of your distress?”

  Lu Meng sat gazing at his visitor a long time without replying.

  “I have a little remedy,” said Lu Xun. “Do you think you might use it?”

  Lu Meng dismissed the servants, and when the two were alone, he said, “This remedy, my friend, please tell me what it is.”

  “Your ailment is due simply to the efficiency of the Jingzhou soldiers; and I know how to keep the beacons from flaring, and I can make the defenders of Jingzhou come to you with their hands tied. Would that cure you?”

  “My friend, you speak as if you saw into my inmost heart. Pray unfold your good scheme.”

  “Guan Yu thinks himself too much of a hero for anyone to dare to face him, and his only anxiety is yourself. Now you must take advantage of this excuse you have made of illness actually to resign this post so that the farce may be kept up and another person be appointed to your place. Let this person, your successor, humbly praise Guan Yu till that general becomes so conceited that he will withdraw all the troops from Jingzhou to send them against Fankou. When Jingzhou is left undefended then is our chance, and the city will fall into our hands.”

  “The plan seems most excellent,” said Lu Meng.

  Wherefore Lu Meng's malady waxed worse, so that he was confined to bed; and he gave Lu Xun his letter of resignation to carry back to Sun Quan. The messenger hastened back and explained the ruse to his master, who soon after issued a command for Lu Meng to retire and attend to the recovery of his health.

  But Lu Meng came to Sun Quan to discuss the matter of a successor.

  Sun Quan said to him, “As to the appointment at Lukou, you know Zhou Yu recommended Lu Su, who at his last moment proposed you. Now you ought to be able to mention some other talented and well-known officer to succeed you.”

  “If you choose a well-known man, Guan Yu will certainly be on his guard against him. Now Lu Xun is deep and farseeing, but he has no widespread fame. Hence no particular notice would be taken of his appointment and no countermeasures taken. So he is the most suitable person to send.”

  Sun Quan agreed and thereupon promoted Lu Xun to the rank of General of the Right Army and Admiral of the Right Fleet, and sent him to defend the port.

  “I am very young,” said Lu Xun, “and feel unequal to such a post.”

  “Lu Meng has proposed you, and you will not make any mistakes. Pray do not decline,” said Sun Quan.

  So the appointment was made, and Lu Xun set out at once. When he had assumed charge of the cavalry, the infantry, and the marines, he set about drawing up a letter to Guan Yu, and he selected fine horses and beautiful silks and good wines and delicacies suitable for gifts to go with the letter. He sent all by the hand of a trusty messenger to Fankou.

  The news of the change of command reached Guan Yu when he lay ill from the effects of his wound and unable to conduct any military operations. Close upon the news came the letter and the gifts from Lu Xun, and the bearer was called in to see the warrior.

  “Friend Sun Quan was not very prudent when he made a general out of a mere scholar,” said Guan Yu, pointing to the messenger.

  The messenger s
aid, “General Lu Xun sends this letter and some presents, which he hopes you will accept. He also sends his felicitations, and would rejoice if the two houses could become friends.”

  Guan Yu read the letter, which was couched in most modest language, and then threw back his head and laughed loud. He bade the attendants receive the various gifts, and sent the bearer away.

  The messenger forthwith returned to Lukou and said the old warrior had seemed very gratified and would henceforward feel no anxiety that danger might threaten from their direction. Spies were sent out to report on proceedings, and they returned to say that half the troops of Jingzhou had been sent to assist in the siege of Fankou. That city was to be seriously assaulted as soon as Guan Yu had recovered.

  This news was promptly sent on to Sun Quan, who at once called in Lu Meng to decide upon the next move.

  “Now is the favorable moment to get possession of Jingzhou,” said Sun Quan. “I propose to send you and my brother, Sun Jiao, to lead the army.”

  This Sun Jiao was really only a cousin, as he was the second son of Sun Quan's uncle, Sun Jing. But Lu Meng objected. “My lord, if you think to employ me, then employ me only; if Sun Jiao, then Sun Jiao only. You cannot have forgotten that Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu were associate commanders, and although the final decision lay with Zhou Yu, yet the other presumed upon his seniority and there was some unfriendliness between the two. All ended well because Cheng Pu recognized the ability of his colleague and so supported him. I know I am not so clever as Zhou Yu, but Sun Jiao's consanguinity will be a greater obstacle than mere length of service, and I fear he may not be wholly with me.”

  Sun Quan saw the force of the contention, and appointed Lu Meng to sole command with Sun Jiao to help him in the commissariat. Lu Meng thanked his lord for his commission, soon got his thirty thousand marines together and assembled eighty ships for the expedition.

  Lu Meng dressed a number of sailors in the plain white costumes of ordinary merchants and put them on board to work his vessels. He concealed his veterans in the compartments. He selected seven generals — Han Dang, Jiang Qin, Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, Zhou Tai, Xu Sheng, and Ding Feng — to serve under him and settled the order of their successive movements. The remainder of the forces was left with Sun Quan as supports and reserves. Letters were also written to Cao Cao that he might cooperate by sending his army to attack Guan Yu in the rear, and to Lu Xun that he would act in concert.