“This looks likely to drive a person out of his senses;” he said, “I wonder whether it is any good.”
They rode down with intent to examine the mysterious arrangement more closely and went in among the stones.
Presently one of the escort called attention to the increasing darkness and said, “The sun is setting; we ought to be returning to camp.”
But as Lu Xun glanced round to look for an exit, a sudden squall came on and the dust whirled up, obscuring both sky and earth. And in the swirl the stones reared themselves up like steep mountains, pointed like swords, and the dust and sand shaped themselves into waves and hillocks one behind the other. The roar of the boiling river was as the drums before a battle.
“This is some trick of Zhuge Liang,” said Lu Xun in a scared voice, “and I have been caught.”
He would go out, but he had quite lost his way and could find no exit. As he stopped to consider what he should do, an old man suddenly appeared, who said, “Does the General wish to go out?”
“I greatly desire that you would pilot me out, O Elder,” replied he.
Leaning on his staff, the old man led the way and with quiet dignity conducted Lu Xun outside. He had no difficulty in finding his way and paused not a single instant. When they were once again on the slope, Lu Xun asked his aged guide who he was.
“I am Zhuge Liang's father-in-law; my name is Huang Chenyan. My son-in-law placed these boulders here as you see them, and he said they represented the Eight-Array Maze. They are like eight doors, and according to the scheme are named: Gate of Rest, Gate of Life, Gate of Injury, Gate of Obstruction, Gate of Prospect, Gate of Death, Gate of Surprise, and Gate of Openings.
“They are capable of infinite mutations and would be equal to a hundred thousand soldiers. As he was leaving, he told me that if any leader of Wu became mazed in them, I was not to conduct him outside. From a precipice near by I saw you, General, enter in at the Gate of Death; and as I guessed you were ignorant of the scheme, I knew you would be entangled. But I am of a good disposition and could not bear that you should be entrapped without possibility of escape, so I came to guide you to the Gate of Life.”
“Have you studied this matter, Sir?” asked Lu Xun.
“The variations are inexhaustible, and I could not learn them all.”
Lu Xun dismounted, bowed low before the old man and then rode away.
The famous poet Du Fu wrote some verses which run something like this:
Planner of three kingdoms; no small praise
Is his — Inventor of the Eight Arrays.
And for that famous boulders, on the river's brim,
Firm was set the denouncement of Wu's whim.
Lu Xun took his way to his camp in deep thought.
“This Zhuge Liang is well named Sleeping-Dragon,” said he, “I am not his equal.”
Then, to the amazement of all, he gave orders to retire. The officers ventured to remonstrate, seeing that they had been so successful.
“General, you have utterly broken the enemy, and Liu Bei is shut up in one small city; it seems the time to smite, and yet you retire because you have come across a mysterious arrangement of stones.”
“I am not afraid of the stones, and it is not on their account that I retire. But I fear Cao Pi. He is no less resourceful than his father, and when he hears I am marching into Shu, he will certainly attack us. How could I return then?” The homeward march began. On the second day the scouts brought a report: “Three Wei generals with three armies are debouching at three different points and moving toward the borders of Wu — Cao Ren from Ruxu, Cao Xiu from Dongkou, and Cao Zhen from Nanjun. Their intentions are unclear.”
“Just as I thought,” said Lu Xun. “But I am ready for them.”
“And now the west is mine,” the victor thought,
But danger from the north discretion taught.
The story of the retreat will be told in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 85. The First Ruler Confides His Son To The Guardian's Care; Zhuge Liang Calmly Settles The Five Attacks.
In summer, the sixth month of the second year of Manifest Might (AD 221) Lu Xun destroyed the army of Shu at Yiling. The First Ruler sought refuge in Baidicheng, of which Zhao Yun then undertook the defense. When Ma Liang returned only to find his lord defeated, he was more distressed than he could say. He announced what Zhuge Liang had said concerning the plans.
The First Ruler sighed, saying, “If I had listened to the Prime Minister's advice, the defeat would not have happened. Now how can I face a return to my capital?”
So he promulgated a command to change the guest-house into the Palace of Eternal Peace. He was deeply grieved when they told him of the deaths Feng Xi, Cheng Ji, Fu Tong, Zhang Nan, King Shamo Ke, and many of his generals.
Next he heard people say: “Huang Quan, who had been given command of the army on the north bank, had given in to Wei. Your Majesty should deliver his whole family to the authority and hold them responsible for the renegade.”
But the First Ruler only said, “The army was quite cut off by Wu from the south bank, and he had no alternative but to surrender. Really, I betrayed him, not he me. Why should I take vengeance on his family?”
So he continued the issue of the renegade's pay to his family.
When Huang Quan surrendered, he was led into the presence of Cao Pi, who said, “You have surrendered to me because you desired to imitate the admirable conduct of Chen Ping and Han Xin of old.”
But Huang Quan replied, weeping, “The Ruler of Shu has been very kind to me, and he gave me the leadership of the army on the North of the Great River. Lu Xun cut me off so that I could not return to Shu, and I would not surrender to Wu, wherefore I have yielded to Your Majesty. Defeated as I am, I should be only too happy if my life were spared, but I have no claim to the credit of the virtuous ones of old.”
The reply satisfied the Ruler of Wei, and he conferred on him the title General Who Guards the South. But Huang Quan, however, declined the offer.
Then one of the courtiers said, “A spy has reported that all of your family have been put to death by the Ruler of Shu.”
But the leader replied that he could not believe it.
“I have the greatest confidence in the clemency of the Ruler of Shu. He knows I would not have surrendered of my own free will, and he would not injure my family.”
And the Ruler of Wei agreed with his opinion. A poem has been written upbraiding Huang Quan:
That was a pity that Huang Quan grudged to die;
Though he yielded to Wei, not Wu,
Yet he crooked the knee in an alien court.
Which the loyal cannot do.
Cao Pi sought advice from Jia Xu concerning his design of bringing the whole country under his own rule.
“I wish to bring the whole empire under my rule; which shall I first reduce, Shu or Wu?”
“Liu Bei is an able warrior, and Zhuge Liang is a most capable administrator; Sun Quan possesses discrimination, and his general, Lu Xun, occupies all the strategic positions of importance. The natural obstacles, the intervening rivers and spreading lakes, would be hard to overcome. I do not think you have any leader to match either of these two men. Even with the prestige of Your Majesty's own presence, no one could guarantee the result. The better course is to hold on and await the outcome of the struggle between those two.”
“I have already dispatched three armies against Wu; can it be that they will fail?”
The Chair of the Secretariat, Liu Ye, held the same opinion as his colleague. Said he, “Lu Xun has just won a great victory over the great host of Shu, and all his army is full of confidence. Further, there are the lakes and the rivers, which are natural difficulties hard to cope with. And again, Lu Xun is resourceful and well prepared.”
The Ruler of Wei said, “Formerly, Sir, you urged me to attack Wu; why do you now give contrary advice?”
“Because times have changed. When Wu was suffering defeat after defeat, the countr
y was depressed and might be smitten. Now this great victory has changed all that, and their morale has increased a hundred times. I say now they may not be attacked.”
“Well; but I have decided to attack. So say no more,” said the Ruler of Wei.
He then led the Imperial Guards out to support his three armies. But the scouts soon brought news justifying the opinion of his advisers: “A force of Wu has been sent to oppose each of our three armies. Lu Fan leads an army against Cao Xiu at Dongkou, Zhuge Jin against Cao Zhen at Nanjun, and Zhu Huan against Cao Ren at Ruxu.”
Liu Ye pointed this out and again said, “Wu has prepared, and no success can be expected.”
Still Cao Pi was obstinate, and marched.
The Wu leader, Zhu Huan, who had been sent against Cao Ren at Ruxu, was a young man of twenty-seven. He was bold and resourceful, and Sun Quan held him in great regard. Hearing that Cao Ren was going to attack Xianxi, Zhu Huan led the bulk of his troops to defend it, leaving only five thousand troops in Ruxu. Then he heard that the van of the enemy, fifty thousand under Commander Chang Diao, with the aid of Zhuge Qian and Wang Shuang, had made a dash for Ruxu, so he hastened back and found the officers were in great fear.
Drawing his sword, he made a speech, “Success depends upon the leader rather than on the number of soldiers. The Art of War says that the value of one soldier who inhabits the place equals that of two soldiers who come from afar; and those who are in possession, however in small number, can overcome those who come from afar. Now the enemy is weary from a long march, and I and you, my men, can hold this place together. We have the Great River to defend us on the south, and we are backed by the mountains on the north. Success should be ours easily, and we are as hosts at home awaiting the arrival of our weary visitors. This will give us victory in every fight. Even if Cao Pi comes, we need feel no anxiety. How much less care we for Cao Ren and his troops?”
Zhu Huan he issued orders to furl all the banners and to silence all the drums as if the city was empty of defenders.
In time, Chang Diao and his veterans of the van came to the city. Not a person was visible, and he hastened forward with all speed. But as he neared the city, suddenly a bomb went off. Immediately up rose a forest of flags, and out dashed Zhu Huan with his sword drawn. And he made for Chang Diao. In the third encounter Zhu Huan cut down Chang Diao, and the troops of Wu, rushing to the attack, thoroughly routed the invaders, slaying innumerable soldiers. Beside scoring a complete victory, Zhu Huan took much spoil of flags and weapons and horses.
Cao Ren himself, coming up later, was attacked by the troops from Xianxi and was also routed. He fled home to his master with the news of defeat and destruction.
And before the Ruler of Wei could decide what course to take in regard to this loss, the news came of the defeat of his another army: “Cao Zhen and Xiahou Shang were besieging Nanjun when Zhuge Jin from within and Lu Xun from without attacked in concert. The two generals suffered a great loss.”
Immediately, another report came: “Cao Xiu has been defeated by Lu Fan at Dongkou.”
So all three had failed and were lost, and Cao Pi sighed and said sadly, “This has come from my willfulness and neglect of advice of Jia Xu and Liu Ye.”
The summer of that year was very unhealthy, and a pestilence swept away the soldiers more than half the number. So they were marched home to Capital Luoyang. The two countries were at enmity though they were not fighting.
Meanwhile the First Ruler was failing. He remained in his Palace of Eternal Peace and presently was confined to his couch. Gradually he became worse, and in the fourth moon of the third year of Manifest Might (AD 222) his condition became serious. He himself felt the end was near, and he was depressed and wept for his two lost brothers till the sight of his eyes suffered. He was morose and ill-tempered: he could not bear any of his court near him, drove away his servants and lay upon his couch sad and solitary.
One evening as thus he lay, a sudden gust of wind came into the chamber, almost extinguishing the candles. As they burned bright again, he saw two men standing in the shade behind them.
“I told you I was worried,” said the First Ruler, “and bade you leave me; why have you come back? Go!”
But they remained and did not go. Wherefore the First Ruler rose and went over to look at them. As he drew near he saw one was Guan Yu and the other Zhang Fei.
“Are you still alive, then, brothers?” said he.
“We are not men; we are shades,” said Guan Yu. “The Supreme One has conferred spirithood upon us in consideration of our faithfulness throughout life, and ere long, Brother, we three shall be together again.” The First Ruler clutched at the figures and burst into tears; then he awoke. The two figures were no longer there. He called in his people and asked the hour; they told him the third watch.
“I am not much longer for this world,” said he with a sigh.
Messengers were sent to Capital Chengdu to summon the Prime Minister and other high officers of state to receive the Emperor's last instructions. They came, Zhuge Liang bringing the two younger sons, Prince of Lu Liu Yung and Prince of Liang Liu Li. The eldest, the heir-apparent, was left in charge of the capital.
Zhuge Liang saw at once that his master was very ill. He bowed to the ground at the foot of the Dragon Couch.
The dying Emperor bade him come near and sit beside him, and he patted his Minister on the back, saying, “The attainment of emperorship was your work. Little thought you that I should prove so stupid as not to follow your advice and so bring about the late disasters. But I am deeply sorry, and now I shall not live long. My heir is a degenerate, but I must leave him to do the best he can with the great inheritance.”
And the tears flowed in streams.
“I trust Your Majesty will fulfill the hopes of the people by a speedy recovery,” said Zhuge Liang, also in tears.
Turning his head, the First Ruler saw Ma Su, Ma Liang's brother, at the bedside. He bade him retire.
When Ma Su had left the chamber, the First Ruler said, “Do you think Ma Su is clever?”
“He is one of the ablest people in the world,” said Zhuge Liang.
“I do not think so. I think his words exceed his deeds. Do not make much use of him. Watch him carefully.”
Having said this, he bade them summon the high officers of state to the chamber. Taking paper and pen, the First Ruler wrote his testament.
He handed it to the Prime Minister with a sigh and said, “I am no great scholar, and I only know the rough outlines of what should be known. But the Teacher has said: 'A bird's song is sad when death is near, and a dying person's words are good.' I was waiting that we might aid each other in the destruction of the Caos and the restoration of the Hans, but ere the work is complete I am called away, and this last command of mine I confide to you as Prime Minister to be handed to my son and heir, Liu Shan. My words are to be taken seriously. I trust that you will instruct and guide my son.”
Zhuge Liang and all those present wept and prostrated themselves, saying, “We pray Your Majesty repose yourself. We will do our utmost whereby to prove our gratitude for the kindness we have received.”
At the First Ruler's command the attendants raised Zhuge Liang from the earth. With one hand the dying man brushed away the falling tears, while with the other he grasped Zhuge Liang's hand and said, “The end is near; I have something more to say as to a close general.”
“What holy command has Your Majesty to give?”
“You are many times more clever than Cao Pi, and you must safeguard the kingdom and complete the great work. If my son can be helped, help him. But if he proves a fool, then take the throne yourself and be a ruler.”
Such a speech almost startled Zhuge Liang out of his senses. A cold sweat broke out all over his body, and his limbs threatened to cease to support him.
He fell on his knees, saying, “I could never do otherwise than wear myself to the bone in the service of your son, whom I will serve till death.”
He knocked his head upon the ground till blood ran down. The dying man called Zhuge Liang closer, and at the same time making his two sons come near, he said to them, “My sons, remember your father's words. After my death you are to treat the Prime Minister as you would your father and be not remiss, for thereby you will fulfill your father's hopes.”
He made the two Princes pay to Zhuge Liang the obeisance due to a father.
Said Zhuge Liang, “Were I destroyed and ground into the earth, I should be unable to repay the kindness I have experienced.”
Turning to the assembled officers, the First Ruler said, “As you have seen, I have confided my orphan son to the care of the Prime Minister and bidden my sons treat him as a father. You too, Sirs, are to treat him with deference. This is my dying request and charge to you.”
Turning to Zhao Yun, he said, “You and I have gone together through many dangers and difficulties. Now comes the parting of our ways. You will not forget our old friendship, and you must see to it that my sons follow my precepts.”
“I shall never dare to give other than my best,” said Zhao Yun. “The fidelity of the dog and horse is mine to give and shall be theirs.”
Then the First Ruler turned to the others, “Noble Sirs, I am unable to speak to you one by one and lay a charge upon each individual; but I say to you: Maintain your self-respect.”
These were his last words. He was sixty-three, and he died on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month (AD 222). A poem was written by Du Fu on his death:
The Emperor set out to destroy the land that lay through the Three Gorges,
Failed he and breathed his last in the palace of Eternal Peace,
The palace fair of his thoughts lay not this side the highlands.
Beautiful chambers are vainly sought in his rural temple,
Now are the pines near his shrine nesting places for herons,
Through the courts aged peasants saunter, enjoying their leisure,
Nearby often is found a shrine to this strategist famous,
Prince and minister's needs are now but offerings in season.
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