Meng Huo and his company ran away with their arms over their heads. Each one returned to his own ravine.
In the fifth moon, when the sun is fierce,
Marched the army into the desert land,
Marched to the River Lu, bright and clear,
But deadly with miasma.
Zhuge Liang the leader cared not,
Pledged was he to subdue the south,
Thereby to repay the First Ruler's deference with service.
Wherefore he attacked the Mangs.
Yet seven times he freed their captured king.
After the crossing of the river, the soldiers were feasted. Then Zhuge Liang addressed his officers: “I let Meng Huo see our camp the second time he was our prisoner, because I wanted to tempt him into raiding it. He is something of a soldier, and I dangled our supplies and resources before his eyes, knowing he would try to burn them and that he would send his brother to pretend to submit that thereby he could get into our camp and have a chance to betray us. I have captured and released him three times, trying to win him over. I do not wish to do him any harm. I now explain my policy that you may understand I am not wasting your efforts and you are still to work your best for the government.”
They all bowed, and one said, “O Minister, you are indeed perfect in every one of the three gifts: wisdom, benevolence, and valor. Not even Lu Wang or Zhang Liang can equal you!”
Said Zhuge Liang, “How can I expect to equal our men of old? But my trust is in your strength, and together we shall succeed.”
This speech of their leader's pleased them all mightily.
In the meantime Meng Huo, puffed up with pride at getting off three times, hastened home to his own ravine, whence he sent trusted friends with gifts to the Eight Nations and the Ninety-three Sees and all the Mang quarters and clans to borrow shields and swords and warriors and braves. He got together one hundred thousand soldiers. They all assembled on an appointed day, massing like clouds and sweeping in like mists gathering on the mountains, each and all obeying the commands of the King Meng Huo.
And the scouts knew it all, and they told Zhuge Liang, who said, “This is what I was waiting for, that the Mangs should have an opportunity of knowing our might.”
Thereupon he seated himself in a small carriage and went out to watch.
O let our enemy's courage glow
That our greater might may show.
The story of the campaign will be continued in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 89. The Lord of Wuxiang Uses The Fourth Ruse; The King of Mang Is Captured The Fifth Time.
Zhuge Liang's small carriage was escorted by only a few horsemen. Hearing that a sluggish river, the Western River, lay in the way, and having no boat, Zhuge Liang bade the escort cut down some trees and make a raft. They did so, but the raft sank. So Zhuge Liang turned to Lu Kai, who said, “There is close by a mountain covered with bamboos. I have heard of these bamboos, and some are several spans in girth. We can make a bridge of them for the army to cross.”
So thirty thousand soldiers were sent to the mountains, where they cut down many thousands of bamboos, and floated them down river. Then at the narrowest point they made a bridge a hundred spans or so in length. Next the main army was brought down to the river and camped in line along the bank. The camp was protected by a moat, crossed by a floating bridge, and a mud rampart. On the south bank they constructed three large stockades so as to prepare for the coming of the Mang soldiers.
They had not long to wait. Meng Huo was hot with rage and came quickly. As soon as he got near the river, he led out ten thousand fierce warriors, armed with big swords and shield, and challenged the first stockade.
Zhuge Liang went forth in simple state. He wore a silk cap and a crane-white robe and held in his hand a feather fan. He sat in a four-horse carriage, and his generals rode right and left.
The King of the Mang was clad in mail of rhinoceros hide and wore a bright red casque. In his left hand he bore a shield, and his right gripped a sword. He rode a red ox. As soon as he saw his enemies, he opened his mouth and poured forth abuse and insults, while his warriors darted to and fro brandishing their weapons.
Zhuge Liang at once ordered the army to retire within the stockades and bar the gates. The Mangs came close up to the stockade and pranced about naked, shouting in derision.
Within the stockade the Shu generals grew very angry, and they went in a body to their leader to beg that he would withdraw the order to remain on the defensive. But Zhuge Liang would not listen.
Presently he said, “These men are not submissive to the Empire Government and are naturally fierce and turbulent. In that mood we are no match for them. But all we have to do is to remain on guard for a few days till their ferocity has spent itself. Then I have a plan that will overcome them.”
Days passed, and the army of Shu made no move; they only maintained the defensive. Zhuge Liang watched the besiegers from an eminence, and saw the first vigor of their advance give way to careless idleness.
Then Zhuge Liang called together his generals and asked, “Dare you give battle now?”
They all rejoiced at the suggestion; so he called them two by two or one by one and gave them secret orders. Zhao Yun and Wei Yan went in first. Wang Ping and Ma Zhong followed. To Ma Dai he said, “I am going to abandon these stockades and retire north of the river. As soon as we have crossed, you are to cut loose the floating bridge and move it down the stream so that Zhao Yun and Wei Yan may cross.”
To Zhang Yi he said, “You are to remain by the camp and light it up at night — as if it is still occupied. When Meng Huo pursues, then you are to cut off his retreat.”
Last of all, Guan Suo was to escort Zhuge Liang's carriage.
The soldiers marched out of the camp at evening, and the lamps were hung up as usual. The Mangs saw this from a distance and dared not attack. But the next morning at dawn Meng Huo led his troops to the stockades and found all was quiet. He went close up and saw they were all empty and bare; not a soldier was there. Grain and fodder lay about among empty carts; all was in confusion, suggesting hasty departure.
“They have abandoned the camp,” said Meng You. “But this is only a ruse.”
Said Meng Huo, “I think that Zhuge Liang has important news from the capital that has made him leave without his baggage train like this. Either Wu has invaded or Wei has attacked. They left these lamps burning to make us think the camps were occupied, but they ran away leaving everything behind. If we pursue we cannot go wrong.”
So the King urged his army onward, himself heading the leading division. When they reached the Western River bank, they saw on the farther side that the camps were all in order and the banners flying as usual like a brightly tinted cloud of silk. Along the bank stood a wall of cloth. They dared not attack.
Meng Huo said to his brother, “This means that Zhuge Liang fears lest we may pursue. That is only a temporary halt, and they will retire in a couple of days.”
The Mangs camped on the river bank while they sent into the mountains to cut bamboos to make rafts. The boldest of the soldiers were placed in front of the camp till the rafts should be ready to cross. Little did Meng Huo suspect that the army of Shu was already within his borders.
One day was very stormy. Then the Mangs saw great flames spring up around them, and at the same time the rolling of drums heralded an attack. The Mangs, instead of going out to meet the enemy, began to force their way out of the Shu attack. Meng Huo became alarmed and fled with all his clans and dependents. They fought their way through and made a dash for their former camp.
Just as they reached it, there appeared a cohort of the enemy led by Zhao Yun. Meng Huo turned off west and sought refuge in the mountains. But he was fiercely attacked by a cohort under Ma Dai. With a small remnant of followers, he got away into a valley. Soon he saw in the west, north and south clouds of smoke rising and the glow of torches, so that he was forced to halt. However, the east remained clear, and presently he fled
in that direction. As he was crossing the mouth of a gully, he noticed a few horsemen outlined against a thick wood and saw they were escorting a small carriage. And in that carriage sat Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang laughed, and said, “So King of the Mangs has got here! How does Heaven make you defeated so? I have waited for you a long time.”
Meng Huo angrily turned to his followers and said, “Thrice have I been the victim of this man's base wiles and have been put to shame. Now chance has sent him across my path, and you must attack him with all your energy. Let us cut him to pieces and those with him.” The Mang horsemen, with Meng Huo shouting to encourage them, pushed forward in hot haste toward the wood. But in a few moments they all stumbled and disappeared into some pits that had been dug in the way. And just then Wei Yan emerged from the wood. One by one the Mangs were pulled out of the pits and bound tight with cords.
Zhuge Liang returned to his camp, where the captors of the King could bring in their prisoner. Zhuge Liang busied himself in soothing the other Mang prisoners. Many of the notables and chiefs of the tributaries had betaken themselves to their own ravines and villages with their followers. Many of those who remained came over and yielded to Shu. They were well fed and assured of safety, and allowed to go to their own. They went off gladly enough.
By and by Zhang Yi brought up the King's brother, Meng You. Zhuge Liang reproached him for his brother's behavior.
“Your brother is a misguided simpleton; you ought to remonstrate with him and persuade him to change his course. Here you are, a captive for the fourth time; are you not ashamed? How can you have the effrontery to look anyone in the face?”
A deep flush of shame passed over Meng You's face, and he threw himself to the earth begging forgiveness.
Zhuge Liang said, “If I put you to death, it shall not be today. This time I pardon you, but you are to talk to your brother.”
So Meng You was loosed from his bonds and allowed to get up. He went away weeping.
Very soon Wei Yan brought up Meng Huo, and to him Zhuge Liang simulated great rage, saying, “What can you say now? You see you are in my hands again.”
“I am again an unfortunate victim,” said Meng Huo. “Once more I have blundered into your net, and now I shall die with no one to close my eyes.”
Zhuge Liang shouted to the lictors to take him away and behead him. Meng Huo never blenched at the sentence, but he turned to his captor and said, “If you freed me only once more, I would wipe out the shame of all four captures.”
Zhuge Liang smiled at the bold reply and bade the lictors loose his bonds, and the attendants served him with wine. Meng Huo was invited to sit in the commander's tent.
Said Zhuge Liang, “Four times you have been treated generously and yet you are still defiant. Why?”
“Though I am what you call a barbarian, I would scorn to employ your vile ruses. And that is why I remain defiant.”
“I have liberated you four times; do you think you can give battle again?”
“If you catch me again I will incline my heart to yield and I will give everything in my ravine to reward your army. I will also take an oath not to cause any further trouble.”
Zhuge Liang smiled, but let him go. The King thanked him and left. As soon as he was set at liberty, Meng Huo got together several thousand of his adherents and went away southward. Before long he fell in with his brother, Meng You, who had got together an army and was on his way to avenge his brother. As soon as they saw each other, the brothers fell upon each other's necks and wept. They related their experiences.
Meng You said, “We cannot stand against the enemy. We have been defeated several times. Now I think we would better go into the mountains and hide in some dark gully where they cannot find us. Those soldiers of Shu will never stand the summer heat; they must retire.”
“Where can we hide?” asked his brother.
“I know a valley away southwest from us called 'Bald Dragon Ravine,' and the King, Duo Si, is a friend of mine. Let us take refuge with him.”
“Very well; go and arrange it,” said Meng Huo.
So Meng You went. When he got there and talked to the chief, King Duo Si lost no time, but came out with his soldiers to welcome Meng Huo, who then entered the valley. After the exchange of salutations, Meng Huo explained his case.
Duo Si said, “O King, rest content. If those men from the Lands of Rivers come here, I will see to it that not one goes home. And Zhuge Liang will meet his death here too.”
Naturally, Meng Huo was pleased; but he wanted to know how his host could feel so secure.
Duo Si said, “In this ravine there are only two roads, the one you came by and another by the northwest. The road you traveled along is level and soft, and the waters are sweet. Humans and horses may both use it. But if we close the mouth of the ravine with a barricade, then no one, however strong, can get in. The other road is precipitous, dangerous, and narrow. The only path is beset with venomous serpents and scorpions, and as evening comes on there are malarial exhalations which are dangerous till past noon the next day. The road is only practicable between two watches before sunset. Then the water is undrinkable. The road is very difficult.
“Then again there are four streams actually poisonous. One is called 'The Dumb Spring.' Its water is pleasant to the palate, but it makes people dumb and they die in a few days. A second fountain is called 'The Spring of Destruction' and is hot. But if a person bathes therein, his flesh rots till his bones protrude and he dies. The third is 'The Black Spring.' Its waters are greenish. If it be sprinkled on a person's body, his limbs turn black and presently he dies. The fourth is 'The Spring of Weak Water,' ice cold. If a person drink of this water his breath is chilled, he becomes weak as a thread and soon dies. Neither birds nor insects are found in this region, and no one but the Han General Ma Yuan, who was styled General Who Quells the Waves for this exploit, has ever passed. Now the northeast road shall be blocked, and you may hide here perfectly safe from those troops of Shu, for, finding that way blocked, they will try the other road, which is waterless save for the four deadly springs. No matter how many they be, they will perish, and we need no weapons.”
“Now indeed I have found a place to live in,” cried Meng Huo, striking his forehead. Then looking to the north he said, “Even Zhuge Liang's wonderful cunning will be of no avail. The four springs alone will defeat him and avenge my army.”
The two brothers settled down comfortably as guests of King Duo Si, with whom they spent the days in feasting.
In the meantime, as the Mangs did not appear, Zhuge Liang gave orders to leave the Western River and push south. It was then the sixth month, and blazing hot. A poet sang about the bitter heat of the south:
The hills are sere, the valleys dry,
A raging heat fills all the sky,
Throughout the whole wide universe
No spot exists where heat is worse.
Another poem runs:
The glowing sun darts out fierce rays.
No cloud gives shelter from the blaze,
In parching heat there pants a crane,
The whale swims through the hissing main.
The brook's cool margin now I love,
Or idle stroll through bamboo grove.
I would not march to deserts far
In leathern jerkin donned for war.
Just at the moment of setting out southward, the spies brought news of Meng Huo's retreat into the Bald Dragon Ravine and the barricading of one entrance. They also said, “The valley is garrisoned, the hills are precipitous and even impassable.”
So Zhuge Liang called in Lu Kai and questioned him, but he did not know exactly the conditions.
Then out spoke Jiang Wan, saying, “Meng Huo's repeated captures have broken his spirit so that he dare not take the field again. Our soldiers are exhausted with this intense heat, and little is to be gained by prolonging the campaign. The best move would be to return to our own country.”
“If we do this, we
shall fall victims to Meng Huo's scheme,” said Zhuge Liang. “If we retreated, he would certainly follow. Beside, having advanced so far, it would be fruitless to turn back now.”
Wang Ping was sent on with the advanced guard and some of the Mangs as guides to seek an entrance on the northwest. They found the road and came to the first spring — the Dumb Spring—, of which the thirsty men and horses drank freely.
Wang Ping returned to report his success, but by the time he reached camp, he and all his soldiers were speechless. They could only point to their mouths. Zhuge Liang knew they had been poisoned, and was alarmed. He went forward in his light chariot to find out the cause. He came to the spring. The water was very deep and dark green. A mass of vapor hung about the surface rising and falling. They would not touch the water. Zhuge Liang went up the hills to look around, but could see nothing except a rampart of mountains. A deep silence hung over all, unbroken by the cry even of a bird. He was perplexed.
Presently he noticed an old temple away up among the crags. By the aid of the lianas and creepers he managed to clamber up, and in a chamber hewn out of the rock he saw the figure of an officer. Beside it was a tablet saying the temple was dedicated to Ma Yuan, the famous general who had preceded him in that country. The natives had erected it to sacrifice to the leader who had headed the campaign against the Mangs. 1
Zhuge Liang, much impressed, bowed before the image of the great leader, and said, “Your humble servant received a sacred trust, the protection of the son of the First Ruler. That son, the present Emperor, sent him here to subdue the Mangs that the land might be free from peril when he decided to attack Wei and take possession of Wu and thereby restore the glory of the Hans. But the soldiers are ignorant of the country, and some of them have drunk of a poisonous spring so that they have become dumb. Your servant earnestly prays your honored spirit, out of regard for the kindness and justice of the present Emperor, to reveal your spiritual character and manifest your holiness by safeguarding and assisting the army.” Having prayed thus, Zhuge Liang left the temple. While seeking some native whom he might question, he saw in the distance, on a hill opposite, an aged man leaning on a staff. He approached, and as he drew nearer, Zhuge Liang noted his extraordinary appearance. When he had reached the temple, Zhuge Liang asked the venerable visitor to walk in. After the salutations, the old man sat on the stones, and Zhuge Liang opened the conversation with the usual questions.
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