The Three Kingdoms Volume 1 (4 page)

“We three, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, though of different families, swear brotherhood and mutual help to one end. From now on, we will aid each other in difficulty and rescue each other in danger. We will serve the country and protect the people. We ask not the same day of birth but we are willing to die at the same time. May Heaven, the all-powerful, and Earth, the ever bountiful, read our hearts! If we break our oath or betray each other’s trust, may Heaven and man smite us!”

After they had made the oath, they asked each other’s ages. As Liu Bei was the oldest of the three, he became the respected eldest brother. Next came Guan Yu and Zhang Fei was the youngest of the trio. This solemn ceremony performed, they had more meat and wine prepared for a huge feast to which they invited over three hundred young men in the village. All of them drank to their hearts’ content in the garden.

The following day weapons were mustered. But there were no horses for them to ride. Just as they were grieving over this, news came of the arrival of two horse dealers who were seeking shelter in the house. They had a group of attendants and a drove of horses with them.

“That surely is a blessing from Heaven!” cried Liu Bei. And the three brothers went forth to welcome the guests, who turned out to be big merchants from Zhongshan. Every year they went northwards to buy horses. They were now on their way home because of the rebellion. Liu Bei invited the two to the house and entertained them with food and drinks. Then he told them about the plan to defeat the rebels and protect the people. The two merchants were so pleased to hear it that they gave them 50 fine steeds, 500 taels of gold and silver, and 1,000
jin
^*
of steel to be used for the forging of arms.

After the merchants had taken their leave, Liu Bei immediately called in good armorers to make weapons for the three of them. They made Liu Bei double swords and Zhang Fei an eighteen-foot long steel spear. For Guan Yu they made a special sword called “Blue Dragon and Half Moon” or “Cold Beauty” with a long handle and a curved blade, weighing more than eighty catties. Each, too, had a helmet and full armor made to match. When all these were ready they led the troops, now five hundred strong, to the city to see Zou Jing, who presented them to Prefect Liu Yan. The three of them paid their respects to the prefect and told him their names. When Liu Bei mentioned his ancestry, Prefect Liu was very pleased and immediately accepted him as a relative.

Several days later, a messenger came with the news that a rebel army of 50,000 men was marching toward the city. Zou Jing and the three brothers were ordered to oppose them with 500 soldiers. Liu Bei and the others gladly undertook to lead the vanguard. At the foot of the Daxing Mountains they saw the rebels, who all wore their hair flying about their shoulders and had yellow turbans wrapped around their foreheads.

When the two armies had drawn up opposite each other, Liu Bei, with his two brothers, one on each side, rode to the front, and flashing his whip, began to hurl reproaches at the rebels and called upon them to surrender. Furious, the rebel leader sent out his chief officer to begin the battle. Zhang Fei at once rode forward, his long spear poised to strike. One thrust and the man rolled off his horse, pierced through the heart. At this the leader himself whipped up his steed and rode forth, his sword raised high, ready to slay Zhang Fei. Immediately, out rushed Guan Yu, swinging his heavy weapon. At the sight of this the rebel leader was seized with fear and before he could collect his wits, the great sword fell, cutting him down from his horse.

Of this day, a poet wrote the following words:

Two heroes new to war’s alarms,
Ride boldly forth to try their arms.
Their valiant deeds three kingdoms tell
And poets sing how these befell.

Seeing that their chief was slain, the rebels threw down their weapons and fled. The regular soldiers dashed in among them. Many thousands surrendered and the victory was complete. Liu Bei and his army returned to town in great triumph. The prefect himself came out to welcome the returning warriors and distribute rewards among officers and men. Thus this part of the rebellion was broken up.

However, the next day, a letter came from the Prefect of Qingzhou, saying that the city, besieged by rebel forces, was near falling and help was urgently needed. When Liu Yan consulted Liu Bei on the matter, the latter said, “I will go and rescue them.” So Liu Yan told Zou Jing to take 5,000 soldiers and set out for Qingzhou with Liu Bei and his two brothers. Seeing the army approaching, the rebels at once sent out part of their forces to oppose them. Being smaller in number, Liu Bei’s army could not prevail and had to retreat some thirty
li,
^*
where they made a camp.

“They are many but we are few,” said Liu Bei to his two brothers. “We can only win by a superior strategy.”

So he prepared an ambush. He told his two brothers to take a thousand men each and hide behind the hills right and left. At the sound of the gongs they were to move out to aid the main army.

The following day, Liu Bei and Zou Jing advanced with the remaining 3,000 soldiers amid the sound of the beating drums. When the rebels came forward to fight, Liu Bei suddenly retreated. Thinking this was their chance, the rebels pressed forward. But as soon as they were led over the hills, the gongs sounded and the two armies that had been lying in ambush rushed out from the flanks, and the main army also turned around to face the rebels. Attacked on three sides, the rebels lost heavily and were driven to the gate of the city, where they were further attacked by local forces, for the prefect also led out his soldiers to assist in the battle. The rebels were comprehensively defeated and many were slain. So the siege of Qingzhou was lifted at last.

Tho’ fierce as tigers soldiers be,
Battles are won by strategy.
A hero comes; he gains renown,
Already destined for a crown.

After the celebrations in honor of the victory were over, Zou Jing proposed to return home, but Liu Bei preferred to go to the aid of his old master Lu Zhi, then struggling with a large number of rebels led by Zhang Jue. So they separated and the three brothers with their troops made their way to Guangzong. When they got there they were taken to see Lu Zhi in his camp. The general received them with great warmth when he learned about the reason of their coming, and asked them to remain with him in the camp while he deployed troops.

The rebel forces were then three times greater in number than the imperial army (150,000 against 50,000). So far they had been drawn up against each other in the place, with no significant victory on either side. “I am surrounding the rebels here,” said Lu Zhi to Liu Bei, “but Zhang Jue’s two brothers, Liang and Bao, are opposing Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun at Yingchuan. I will give you a thousand more men, and with these you can go and find out what is happening there so that we can settle on a date for joint action.”

So Liu Bei and his men set out at once on a quick march to Yingchuan. At that time the imperial troops led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were attacking with success and the rebels had withdrawn to Changshe, where they pitched camp by the thick grass. Seeing this, Huangfu Song decided to attack them by fire. So he ordered every soldier to prepare a bundle of dry grass and lie in ambush. That night a strong wind suddenly rose and just after midnight a blaze was started and the rebels were attacked. Fed by the strong wind, the flames went high into the sky. The rebels were thrown into utter confusion. There was no time for them to saddle horses or don armor and they fled in all directions. The battle continued till dawn. Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, with what was left of their men managed to find a way of escape. Suddenly, however, a troop of soldiers with red banners confronted them and blocked their way. The leader was a man of medium stature with small eyes and a long beard whose name was Cao Cao, or more commonly, Cao Meng-de. He was from Qiaojun in Peiguo
^*
holding the rank of an officer in the imperial army. His father was Cao Song, who had changed his family name from Xiahou to Cao because he was adopted by the eunuch Cao Teng. When Cao Cao was a child, he was also given the affectionate names of Ah-man and Ji-li.

As a young man Cao Cao had been fond of hunting and traveling, and delighted in songs and dances. He was resourceful and full of guile. Dissatisfied with the young man’s idleness, his uncle used to get angry with him and told his father Cao Song of his misbehavior. As a result, he would be reproached by his father.

But the youth was equal to the occasion. One day, seeing his uncle coming, he dropped to the ground, pretending to be seized by a fit. Alarmed, the uncle ran to tell the young man’s father, but when the latter hurried to Cao Cao’s side, he found the youth in perfect health.

“Your uncle said you were in a fit. Are you better now?”

“I never have such illness,” answered Cao Cao. “But I have lost my uncle’s affection so he always speaks evil of me.” From then on, whatever the uncle might say of his faults, his father paid no attention. So the young man grew up self-willed and uncontrolled.

At that time a certain man called Qiao Xuan said to Cao Cao: “Rebellion is at hand and only a man of the greatest ability can restore tranquillity to the land. That man is you.”

Another person from Nanyang said this of him: “The House of Han is about to fall. He who can bring peace back to the people is none other than this man.”

To inquire about his future, Cao Cao went to see a wise man in Runan.

“What manner of man am I?” he asked. The seer made no reply. When Cao Cao put the question again, he replied, “You are capable enough to rule the world but wicked enough to bring trouble to it.” Hearing this Cao Cao was extremely pleased.

At twenty he was recommended to be an official and he began his career in a district near Luoyang. As soon as he arrived at his post, he had clubs of various sorts hung up at the four gates of the city. Any breach of the law would be met with severe punishment, whatever the rank of the offender. One night, an uncle of a powerful eunuch was found walking in the street with a sword and was arrested. In due course the man was beaten. After that, no one dared to defy the law and Cao Cao’s name began to spread. Later he became a magistrate.

At the outbreak of the rebellion he was created an officer and was given command of 5,000 soldiers to help fight at Yingchuan. He just happened to come across the newly defeated rebels, whom he cut to pieces. Many thousands were slain and countless banners, drums, and horses were captured. However, the two rebel leaders put up a desperate struggle and managed to get away. After an interview with Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, Cao Cao went in pursuit of the rebels again.

We return now to Liu Bei and his two sworn brothers. On arriving at Yingchuan, they heard the din of battle and saw flames rising high toward the sky. They hastened to the spot but were too late for the fighting. So they went to see the two generals to inform them of Lu Zhi’s intention.

“Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao have little strength left,” said the two generals, “but they will surely make for Guangzong to join Zhang Jue. You’d better hurry back to help Lu Zhi.”

The three brothers retraced their steps. Halfway on their journey they saw a group of soldiers escorting a prisoner in a cage-cart. When they drew near, they found to their great surprise that the prisoner was none other than Lu Zhi. Hastily dismounting, Liu Bei asked him what had happened. Lu Zhi explained, “I had surrounded Zhang Jue’s troops and was on the verge of smashing them when he employed some of his supernatural tricks and I was prevented from winning an immediate victory. The Emperor sent down a eunuch to investigate my failure and that official demanded a bribe. I told him that the army did not even have enough grain to feed itself and asked him where, in the circumstance, I could find extra money for him. In resentment he reported to the Emperor that I was hiding behind my ramparts and would not give battle, and accused me of disheartening my men. Infuriated, the Emperor gave orders that I was to be taken to the capital to answer the charge and my army was to be commanded by a man called Dong Zhuo.”

This story put Zhang Fei into a rage. He held up his long spear and was about to slay the escorting soldiers to free Lu Zhi when his eldest brother checked him.

“The government will take the proper course,” he said. “You mustn’t act too rashly.” Then the soldiers took Lu Zhi away.

It was pointless to continue their journey. So Guan Yu proposed to go back to their hometown. Liu Bei agreed and they retook the road toward the north. They had not been two days on the road when they heard the thunder of battle behind some hills. Hastening to the top of a mound they saw the imperial soldiers suffering great loss and chasing after them were a whole army of Yellow Turbans, swarming from all around the place. On their banners were the words “General of Heaven” written in big characters.

“That’s Zhang Jue,” said Liu Bei. “Let’s attack him, quick!” And they galloped down with their men to join in the battle.

Zhang Jue had defeated Dong Zhuo and was following up his victory, in hot pursuit of his retreating enemy, but the three brothers charged into his army, throwing his ranks into great confusion and driving him back some fifty
li
or more. The three of them rescued Dong Zhuo and returned with him to his camp.

“What offices do you hold now?” asked Dong Zhuo, when he had leisure to speak to the three brothers.