Romance of the Three Kingdoms: 1 (Tuttle Classics)

by Lo Kuan-Chung

  The close of K’ungming’s speech seemed to move Yuan-te to greater grief for he beat his breast and stamped his feet and wept yet more bitterly.”

  Lu Su attempted to console him saying,“Be not so distressed, O Uncle; let us hear what K’ungming can propose.”

  “I would beg you to return to your master and tell him all. Tell him of this great trouble and entreat him to let us stay here a little longer.”

  “But suppose he refuse; what then?” said Lu Su.

  “How can he refuse since he is related by marriage to my master?” said K’ungming.“I shall expect to hear glad tidings through you.”

  Lu Su was really the first of generous men and seeing Yuan-te in such distress he could do no other than consent and say he would do so. Yuan-te and K’ungming both thanked him most cordially and after a banquet the emissary went down into his ship to return. On the way he called in to see Chou Yu and told him. But Chou stamped his foot with rage and said,“My friend, you have been fooled again. Long ago when Liu Pei was dependent on Liu Piao he always cherished the intention to supplant him; think you that he really pities Liu Chang of Shu? This sort of evasive policy will certainly cause you much trouble. However, I have a scheme which I think K’ungming will not be able to get the better of. Only you will have to make another journey.”

  “I should be pleased to hear your fine scheme,” said Lu Su.

  “Do not go to see our master. Return to Chingchou and say to Liu Pei that since his family and the Suns are related by marriage they really form but one house, and since he has qualms about attacking the west we will do it for him. We will march an army under this pretext, but really go to Chingchou, and we shall take him unprepared. The road to the west runs through his city and we will call upon him for supplies. He will come out to thank the army and we will assassinate him whereby we shall revenge ourselves and at the same time remove a source of future evil.”

  This seemed an excellent plan to Lu Su and he returned at once to Chingchou. Before receiving him Yuan-te talked over the matter with his adviser.

  Said K’ungming,“He has not seen the Marquis, he has called in at Ch’aisang and he and Chou Yu have decided upon some scheme, which he is to talk you into accepting. However, let him talk; only watch me and when I nod my head then agree to whatever he may propose.”

  Lu Su was then admitted and said,“The Marquis of Wu praises the noble virtue of the Imperial Uncle and after consultation with his officers he has determined to take the western kingdom on his behalf and, that done, Chingchou can be exchanged for it without further delay. However, when the army marches through it will be expected of you to contribute some necessary supplies.”

  K’ungming here nodded his head rapidly, at the same time saying,“We could hardly have hoped for such kindness,” while Yuan-te saluted with joined hands and said,“This is due to your friendly efforts on our behalf.”

  “When the brave army arrives we shall certainly come out to meet it and entertain the soldiers,” said K’ungming.

  Lu Su felt great satisfaction and was quite happy at his success, he took his leave and went homeward. But Yuan-te as yet did not understand.

  “What is their intention?” said he.

  His adviser smiled.“Chou Yu’s end is very near. The ruse he is now trying would not take in a boy.”

  “Why?”

  “This is the ruse known as ‘borrow a road to exterminate Kuo.’ Under the pretence of taking the west they intend to capture this place, and when you go out to compliment the army you will be seized and they will dash into the city which they hope to find unprepared.”

  “And what are we to do?”

  “Have no anxiety; all we have to do is to prepare a hidden bow to get the fierce tiger; to spread the enticing bait to hook the great leviathan. Wait till Chou Yu comes; if he is not killed he will be nine-tenths a corpse. We will call in Chao Yun for orders and give him secret instructions and I will dispose the others.”

  And Yuan-te was glad.

  Let Chou Yu lay what plans he will,

  K’ungming anticipates his skill,

  That river land fair bait did look,

  But he forgot the hidden hook.

  Lu Su hastened back to Chou Yu to tell him that all was going as he desired and Yuan-te would come out to welcome the army. And Chou Yu laughed with glee, saying,“At last! Now they will fall into my trap.”

  He bade Lu Su prepare a petition for the information of the Marquis and he ordered Cheng P’u to bring up reinforcements. He himself had nearly recovered from the arrow wound and felt well. He made his dispositions for the advance, telling off the leaders of the van and wings. The army numbered five legions and Chou Yu marched with the second division. While voyaging in his ship he was always smiling to think how he was to have K’ungming at last.

  At Hsiak’ou he enquired if there was any one to welcome him. They told him the Imperial Uncle had sent Mi Chu to greet him and he was called.

  “What of the preparations for the army?” asked Chou Yu as soon as Mi Chu came.

  “My master has seen to that; all is prepared,” said Mi.

  “Where is the Imperial Uncle?” asked Chou.

  “He is at Chingchou, waiting outside the walls to offer you the cup of greeting.”

  “This expedition is on your account,” said Chou Yu.“When one undertakes so long a march and such a task the rewards for the army must be very substantial.”

  Having got this idea of what Chou Yu expected, Mi Chu returned to his own city, while the battle ships in close order sailed up the river and took their places along the bank. As they went on the most perfect tranquillity seemed to reign on all sides. Not a ship was visible anywhere, and no one hindered. Chou Yu pressed forward till he came quite near Chingchou and still the wide river lay calm. But the spies who came back reported two white flags flying on the city walls.

  Still not a man was seen and Chou Yu began to feel suspicious. He had his ship navigated in shore and he himself landed on the bank, where he mounted a horse and, with a small army of veterans under three captains, travelled along the land road.

  By and bye he came to the city wall. There was no sign of life. Reining in his steed he bade them challenge the gate. Then some one from the wall asked who was there. The men of Wu replied that it was their General in person. Immediately was heard the thud of a club and the wall became alive with men all armed. And from the tower came out Chao Yun who said,“Why are you here, General?”

  “I am going to take the west for you,” replied Chou Yu,“do you not know?”

  “K’ungming knows that you want to try the ruse of ‘borrowing a road to destroy Kuo.’ And so he stationed me here. And my master bade me say that he and the ruler of the west country are both members of the reigning family so that he could not think of such baseness as attacking Shu. If you people of Wu do so, he will be forced to go away into the mountains and become a recluse. He could not bear to lose the confidence of mankind.”

  At this Chou Yu turned his horse as if to return. Just then his scouts came up to say that armed bands were moving toward him from all sides, and Kuan Yu and Chang Fei led two of them. Their number was unknown but the sound of their tramping shook the heavens. They said they wanted to capture Chou Yu.

  At these tidings Chou Yu’s excitement became so intense that he fell to the ground with a great cry, and the old wound reopened.

  The game was now too deep-in vain he sought

  A countermove; his efforts came to nought.

  Later chapters will show what was Chou Yu’s fate.

  CHAPTER LVII

  “SLEEPING DRAGON” MOURNS AT CH’AISANG: “PHOENIX FLEDGELING” INTERVENES AT LEIYANG

  I n the last chapter it was said that a sudden rage filled the bosom of Chou Yu and he fell to the ground. Then he was carried to his boat. It only added to his rage and mortification to be told that his enemies and rivals could be seen on the top of one of the hills apparently feasting and enjoying some music.
He lay grinding his teeth with vexation.“They say I shall never be able to get Ssuch’uan! But I will; I swear I will.”

  Soon after Sun Ch’uan’s brother Yu arrived and Chou Yu told him his vexations.“My brother sent me to assist you,” said Sun Yu.

  Sun Yu ordered the army to press forward and they got to Pach’iu. There they stopped, for the scouts reported large forces under Liu Feng and Kuan P’ing barring the river route. This failure did not make the General any calmer.

  About this time a letter from K’ungming arrived, which ran like this:— “Since our parting at Ch’aisang I have thought of you often. Now comes to me a report that you desire to take The Western Land of Streams, which I regret to say I consider impossible. The people are strong and the country is precipitous and defensible. The governor may be weak within, but he is strong enough to defend himself. Now indeed, General, you would go far and you would render great services, yet can any one foretell the final result? No; not even Wu Ch’i the great General could say for certain, nor could Sun Wu be sure of a successful issue. Ts’ao Ts’ao suffered severe defeat at Ch’ihpi; think you he will ever cease to hope for revenge? Now if you undertake a long expedition, will he not seize the occasion to fall upon Chiangnan and grind it to powder? Such a deed would be more than I could bear and I venture to warn you of the possible danger if haply you may condescend to regard it.”

  The letter made Chou Yu feel very sorrowful and he sighed deeply. He called for paper and a pen and wrote to the Marquis Wu and, having done this, he said to his assembled officers,“I have honestly tried to do my best for my country but my end is at hand. The number of my days is accomplished. You must continue to aid our master till his end shall be achieved—”

  He stopped, for he had swooned. Slowly he regained consciousness and as he looked up to heaven he sighed heavily,“O God, since thou madest me, why didst thou also create Liang?”

  Soon after he passed away; he was only thirty-six.

  The battle at Ch’ihpi made him famous;

  Though young in years he gained a veteran’s reputation.

  Deep feeling, his music declared its intensity;

  Subtle, with excess hospitality he foiled a plot;

  Persuasive, he once obtained a large gift of grain,

  Capable he led an army of millions.

  Pach’iu was his deathbed, there his fate met him.

  Sadly indeed they mourned him.

  After his death his captains sent his dying memorial to the Marquis of Wu, who was most deeply affected and wept aloud at the sad tidings of his death. When he opened the letters he saw that Lu Su was named as the dead general’s successor. This is the letter:—

  “Possessing but ordinary abilities, there was no reason why I should have been the recipient of your confidence and high office, but I have not spared myself in the leadership of the great army under my command that thereby I might prove my gratitude. Yet none can measure life and the number of our days is ordained by fate. Before I could achieve even my poor intentions my feeble body has failed me. I regret it without measure. I die with Ts’ao Ts’ao threatening and our northern borders disturbed and with Liu Pei in your family as though you were feeding a fierce tiger. None can foretell the fate of the empire in these weary days of stress and of peculiar anxiety for you.

  “Lu Su is most loyal, careful in all matters and a fitting man to succeed to my office. When a man is near death his words are wise and if I may haply retain your regard I may die but I shall not decay.”

  “He should have been a king’s counsellor, cried Sun Ch’uan, amid his tears.“He has left me, alas! too soon, and whom have I to lean upon? But he recommends his friend and I can do nothing better than take that advice.”

  Whereupon he appointed Lu Su to the vacant command.

  He also saw that the coffin of his beloved general was sent to Ch’aisang ready for the funeral sacrifices.

  The night of Chou Yu’s death K’ungming was gazing up at the heavens when he saw a bright star fall to the earth.“Chou Yu is dead,” said he with a smile. At dawn he sent to tell Yuan-te, who sent men to find out, and they came back to say it was true; he had died.

  “Now that this has come to pass what should we do?” said Yuan-te.

  “Lu Su will succeed,” said K’ungming.“And I see in the heavens signs of an assembly of captains in the east so I shall go. The mourning for Chou Yu will serve as a pretext. I may find some able scholar there to be of help to you.”

  “I am afraid lest the captains of Wu harm you,” said Liu Pei.

  “While Chou Yu lived I did not fear; is there anything to dread now that he is gone?”

  However, he took Chao Yun as commander of his escort when he embarked for Pach’iu, and on the road he heard of Lu Su’s succession to the late general’s post. As the coffin of Chou Yu had· been sent to Ch’aisang, K’ungming continued his journey thither and, on landing, was kindly received by Lu Su. The officers of Wu did not conceal their enmity but the sight of the redoubtable Chao Yun, always close at hand, kept them from trying to hurt K’ungming.

  The officers brought by K’ungming were arranged in order before the bier and he himself poured the libation. Then he knelt and read this threnody:—

  “Alas, Kung-chin! Hapless are you in your early death. Length of days is in the hands of God, yet do men suffer and my heart is deeply grieved for you. I pour this libation that your spirit may enjoy its fragrance.

  “I lament you. I lament your younger days passed in the companionship of Po-fu, when, preferring eternal principles to material wealth, you abode in a humble cottage.

  “I lament your ripe strength when you guarded distant Pach’iu, putting fear into the heart of Liu Piao, destroying rebels and ensuring safety.

  “I lament the grace of your manhood. Married to a fair maid of the Ch’iao family, son-in-law of a minister, you were such as would add lustre to the Han Court.

  “I lament your resolute purpose when you opposed the pledge-giving. As in the beginning your wings drooped not, so in the end your pinions spread wide.

  “I lament your abandon, when your false friend, Chiang, came to you at Poyang. There you manifested your lofty ideals.

  “I lament your magnificent talents, proved in civil administration as in military science. With fire attacking the fierce enemy you brought his strength to weakness.

  “I recall you as you were but yesterday, bold and successful, and I weep your untimely death. Prostrate I weep tears of sorrow. Loyal and upright in heart, noble and spiritual by nature, your life has been but three decades but your fame will endure for ages.

  “I mourn for your affection. My bowels writhe with sorrow and my deep-seated sadness will never cease. The very heavens are darkened. The army is sad; your lord sheds tears; your friends weep floods.

  “Scanty of ability am I, yet even of me you begged plans and sought schemes to aid Wu to repulse Ts’ao, to restore the Hans and comfort the Lius. But with you as the firm corner stone and your perfect dispositions, could the final result cause any anxiety?

  “Alas, my friend! The quick and the dead are ever separate; they mingle never. If in the deep shades spirits have understanding you now read my inmost heart, yet hereafter there will be none on earth to comprehend.

  “Alas, the pain!

  “Deign to accept this my sacrifice.”

  The sacrifice finished, K’ungming bowed to the ground and keened while his tears gushed forth in floods. He was deeply moved.

  Those who stood on guard by the bier said one to another,“People lied when they said these two were enemies; look at the sincerity shown in sacrifice.” And Lu Su was particularly affected by the display of feeling and thought,“Plainly K’ungming loved him much, but Kung-chin was not broadminded enough and would have done him to death.”

  Before the Sleeping Dragon emerged from his Nanyang retreat Many brilliant men had descended upon this earth; Since, O azure Heaven, ye made Kung-ching Why needed dusty earth produce a K’ungming?r />
  Lu Su gave a banquet for K’ungming after which the guest left. Just as he was embarking his arm was clutched by a person in Taoist dress who said with a smile,“You exasperated literally to death the man whose body lies up there; to come here as a mourner is an open insult to Wu. It is as good as to say they have no other left.”

  At first K’ungming did not recognise the speaker but very soon he saw it was no other than Pan Tung, or the “Phoenix Fledgeling.” Then he laughed in his turn, and they two hand in hand went down into the ship, where they talked heart to heart for a long time. Before leaving, K’ungming gave his friend a letter and said,“I do not think that Sun will use you as you merit. If you find life here distasteful, then you may come to Chingchou and help to support my master. He is liberal and virtuous and will not disdain what you have spent your life in learning.”

  Then they parted and K’ungming went alone to Chingchou.

  Lu Su had the coffin of Chou Yu taken to Wuhu, where Sun Ch’uan received it with sacrifices and lamentations. The dead leader was buried in his native place.

  His family consisted of two sons and a daughter, the sons being named Hsun and Yin. Sun Ch’uan treated them with tenderness.

  Lu Su was not satisfied that he was the fittest successor to his late chief and said,“Chou Kung-chin was not right in recommending me, for I have not the requisite ability and am unfitted for this post. But I can commend to you a certain able man, conversant with all knowledge, and a most capable strategist, not inferior to Kuan Chung or Yo I, one whose plans are as good as those of Sun Wu and Wu Ch’i, the most famous masters of the Art of War. Chou Yu often took his advice and K’ungming believes in him. And he is at hand.”

  This was good news for Sun, who asked the man’s name, and when he heard it was P’ang T’ung, he replied,“Yes; I know him by reputation; let him come.”

  Whereupon P’ang T’ung was invited to the Palace and introduced. The formal salutations over, Sun Ch’uan was disappointed with the man’s appearance, which was indeed extraordinary. He had bushy eyebrows, a turned-up nose, a dark skin and a stubby beard. So he was prejudiced against him.