The Three Kingdoms Volume 2 (3 page)

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hot anger Cao Ren lost no time in marching out to avenge the loss of so much of his army. He hastily crossed the river, intending to attack Xinye and trample it in the dust.

After the victory over the two Lus, Shan Fu said to Liu Bei, “Cao Ren is now stationed at Fancheng with his army. When he hears of his losses he will try to retrieve them and come to attack us.”

“What can we do to counter him?” asked Liu Bei.

“If he comes with all his force his own city will be left undefended and we can capture it in the meantime.”

Liu Bei asked him how this could be done.

The advisor leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Whatever the plan was it seemed to please Liu Bei enormously, for he at once set about making necessary arrangements. Soon, scouts came to report that Cao Ren had crossed the river with a mighty army.

“Just as I guessed,” said Shan Fu.

Then he suggested Liu Bei should move out to oppose the enemy. He did as he was advised and when both sides had completed their battle formations, Zhao Yun rode to the front as champion and challenged the other side. Li Dian was sent out to accept the challenge. At about the tenth bout Li Dian, conscious that he had no chance of winning, turned back and retired to his own side. Zhao Yun pressed after him but was checked by a shower of arrows from the two wings. Then both sides called off the battle and withdrew to their own camps.

Li Dian reported to his chief that their opponents were strong and vigorous and could not be treated lightly. He advised him to retreat back to their city.

Cao Ren angrily rebuked him: “You tried to discourage the men before we started and now you have deliberately lost the battle to the enemy. You have been bought and you deserve death.”

He called in the executioners to take Li Dian out to be slain but the other officers pleaded with him and finally Li Dian was spared. However, he was transferred to the command of the rear while Cao Ren himself led the attack.

The next day amid the beating of drums the army advanced. Having drawn up his men in a special formation, Cao Ren sent a messenger over to the other side to ask if his opponent recognized his battle formation. Shan Fu went up a hill and looked over at it. Then he said to Liu Bei, “His deployment is known as the Eight Locked Gates and each gate has a name. If you enter by any of the three gates named Birth, Scene, and Expanse you succeed; if by any of another three gates named Wound, Fear, and Break you sustain injuries. The other two gates are named Obstacle and Death, and to enter them means the end. Now, though, the eight gates are all correctly placed, there is a lack of overall control in the center and the formation can be thrown into confusion by entry from the southeast through the Gate of Birth and exit in the west through the Gate of Scene.”

Therefore Liu Bei ordered the soldiers to defend well in their own formation. Then Zhao Yun, leading 500 men, rode out on his prancing steed to break the enemy’s line. He burst in through the southeast, as directed by the advisor, and with great clamor and fighting, reached the center. Cao Ren made for the north but Zhao Yun, instead of following him, darted westward and got through. Then he turned around to the southeast again and attacked till Cao Ren’s army was in disarray. Liu Bei gave the signal for a general advance and the enemy’s defeat was severe. The beaten men retreated to their camp.

Shan Fu ordered his men not to pursue and so the army also returned.

The loss of the battle assured Cao Ren of his colleague’s wisdom so he sent for him for consultation.

“They certainly have some very capable people in Liu Bei’s army,” said Cao Ren. “They even broke my special formation.”

“My chief anxiety is about Fancheng,” said Li Dian.

“I will raid their camp tonight,” said Cao Ren. “If I succeed we will decide upon what should be done next. If I fail, we will return to Fancheng.”

“No, you shouldn’t go. They will be prepared for such a raid,” said Li Dian.

“How can you expect to fight successfully when you are so full of doubts?” retorted Cao Ren angrily.

Thus he ignored his colleague’s advice and decided to raid his enemy’s camp at the second watch, with himself in command of the van and Li Dian at the rear.

Now, as Shan Fu was discussing plans with his chief a gust of wind suddenly swept up.

“This wind means that the enemy will raid on our camp tonight,” said the advisor.

“How are we going to meet it?” asked Liu Bei.

“I have already thought out the plan,” was the reply.

So he quickly arranged moves to counter the raiders. By the second watch, when Cao Ren arrived with his army, he saw fires on all sides and the camp itself was burning. He realized at once that all hope of a surprise attack was in vain and he turned to get away as quickly as possible. However, it was too late. Zhao Yun had already fallen upon him and cut his return road. Cao Ren hastened north toward the river but no sooner had he gained the bank and was looking for boats to cross than up came Zhang Fei to attack him.

By dint of great efforts and with the support of his colleague Cao Ren got into a boat, but most of his men were drowned in the river. As soon as he got to shore he bolted for the city of Fancheng. At the wall he hailed the guards to open the gate but to his great surprise he heard the rolling of drums, which was soon followed by the appearance of an officer and a body of soldiers. It was none other than the formidable Guan Yu.

“I took the city a long time ago!” shouted Guan Yu.

This was a severe shock to Cao Ren and he turned to flee. Instantly, Guan Yu came down to give chase and an even greater number of Cao Ren’s men were lost. The remnant hastened toward the capital. On the way Cao Ren made inquiries and learned that it was Shan Fu who advised Liu Bei on his battle strategy.

While the defeated general had to find his way back to the capital, Liu Bei, after the great victory, entered Fancheng, where he was welcomed by the magistrate, himself a descendant of the imperial family. He invited Liu Bei to a dinner at his residence and treated him exceedingly courteously.

While at the magistrate’s house, Liu Bei noticed a distinguished-looking young man and asked who he was.

“He is my nephew, Kou Feng,” replied the magistrate. “His parents are dead and so he is here with me.”

Liu Bei took a great liking for the lad and proposed to adopt him. The magistrate was quite pleased with the idea and so the adoption was arranged. The young man’s name was changed to Liu Feng. When Liu Bei left, he took his newly-adopted son with him. The young man was then made to bow before Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as uncles.

Guan Yu was doubtful of the wisdom of this adoption. He said, “Brother, you already have a son of your own. Why do you think it necessary to adopt another? It’ll only cause trouble later.”

“I’ll treat him as a father should and surely he’ll wait upon me as befits a son. How can there be any trouble?” replied Liu Bei.

Guan Yu was displeased. Then Liu Bei and Shan Fu had further discussions about their next move. They decided to leave Zhao Yun to guard Fancheng while the rest of the army returned to Xinye.

In the meantime, Cao Cao’s defeated general had returned. When he saw his lord, Cao Ren threw himself to the ground and, weeping and admitting his faults, he related the details of the loss.

“Well, victory or defeat is only common in a war,” said Cao Cao. “But I should like to know who mapped out the plans for Liu Bei.”

“It was Shan Fu,” said Cao Ren.

“Who is he?” asked Cao Cao.

Cheng Yu said with a smile, “This man is not called Shan Fu. When young this man was fond of sword play. Many years ago he killed a man to avenge the wrongs of a friend. To escape he loosened his hair and muddied his face, but was caught and questioned by guards. As he would not answer any of their questions they tied him to a cart and pushed it through the streets to see if anyone would recognize him. They beat a drum to call the attention of the people. Although there were some who knew him, none dared say anything. Later, his friends managed to release him secretly and he ran away under some other name. Then he turned to study and wandered everywhere to look for great scholars. He is often in the company of the learned recluse Sima Hui. His real name is Xu Shu or Xu Yuan-zhi, and he comes from Yingchuan. Shan Fu is merely his assumed name.”

“How does he compare with yourself?” asked Cao Cao.

“He is ten times more clever than me,” replied Cheng Yu.

“What a pity that this able man should be in Liu Bei’s service! His wings will soon grow. What is to be done?”

“Xu Shu is there now, but it will not be difficult to call him here if you want him,” replied Cheng Yu.

“How can I make him come?” asked Cao Cao.

“He is noted for his filial piety towards his mother. His father died when he was still very young, leaving his mother a widow with two sons. Now his brother is also dead and his mother has no one to care for her. If you send someone to get his mother here, and tell her to write and summon her son, he will surely come.”

Cao Cao was greatly pleased with his words and without delay he had the old lady brought to the capital. He treated her very well and said to her: “I hear you have an extremely talented son who is now at Xinye helping the rebel Liu Bei against the court. It is a great pity to see a jewel sinking in a mire. I want to trouble you to write a letter to call him. I will recommend him before the Emperor and he is sure to get a handsome reward.”

“What sort of man is Liu Bei?” she asked.

Cao Cao replied, “A common sort of person from Zhuojun, brazen enough to style himself as the Imperial Uncle, and so claiming some kind of connection with the House of Han. He is neither trustworthy nor virtuous. A hypocrite in essence, he is righteous in appearance but mean by nature.”

The old lady answered in a stern voice: “What nonsense you are talking! Everyone knows he is a descendant of a Han prince and so is related to the ruling house. He is courteous to his subordinates and respectful to others. He enjoys a high reputation of benevolence. All men, young or old, even cowherds and firewood cutters, know him by name. He is indeed the finest and noblest man in the country. If my son is in his service, then he has found the right master. You, under the name of a Han minister, are really nothing but a Han traitor, yet you try to slander Liu Bei and call him a rebel. You even try to induce me to make my son leave the light for darkness. Are you devoid of all sense of shame?”

As she finished speaking she picked up the inkstand to strike at Cao Cao. This so enraged him that he forgot himself and ordered the guards to take the old lady out and put her to death. The advisor Cheng Yu, however, stopped this act of folly by pointing out to him how it would damage his reputation and enhance hers. “Besides,” he went on to say, “her death would add a keen desire for revenge in her son, who would then exert himself to assist Liu Bei. You had better keep her here so that her son’s body and thoughts may be in different places. He cannot devote all his energy to helping our enemy while his mother is here. If you keep her I think I can find a way to persuade the son to come and help you.”

So the old lady was saved. She was provided with a suitable place to live and cared for. Every day, Cheng Yu went to ask after her health, falsely claiming to be a sworn brother of her son and so entitled to wait on her as a filial son would have done. He often sent her gifts, and each gift would be accompanied with a brief note so that she had to write in reply. In this way he managed to obtain samples of her handwriting, which made it possible for him to forge a letter to her son. When he could do this without fear of detection he wrote one and sent it by the hand of a trusted person to Xinye.

When the messenger arrived there, he inquired about Shan Fu and said that he had a letter from home for him. The soldiers led him to their chief advisor, to whom he said that he was a servant at the old lady’s place and had been sent by her to bring this letter to her son. Shan Fu quickly tore it open and read:

On your brother’s death recently I was left all alone without anyone to turn to for help. I was just lamenting over my poor lot when the prime minister sent people to inveigle me into coming to the capital. He says that you are a rebel and he has thrown me into confinement. However, thanks to Cheng Yu my life has been spared so far but I would only be safe if you could come and submit to him. When this reaches you, remember how I have toiled to bring you up and come at once so that you may prove yourself a filial son. Together we may find some way of escaping to our own place and avoid the grave danger that threatens me. My life hangs by a thread and I look to you to save me.

Tears gushed from his eyes as he read, and with the letter in his hand he went at once to see Liu Bei. “I am Xu Shu of Yingchuan and I have changed my name to Shan Fu to escape being caught. Some time ago I heard that Liu Biao treated true scholars well and I went to him, but after talking with him I realized that he was a man of no use so I left him very soon. I went to see my friend Sima Hui late one night and told him about this. He blamed me for not knowing whom to serve. Then he told me of you and I sang that wild song in the street to attract your attention. I was grateful that you immediately took me into your confidence and put me in a position of responsibility.

“But now my aged mother has fallen a victim of Cao Cao’s wiles. She is in prison and he threatens to do worse unless I submit to him. My mother has written to call me and I must go. It is not that I do not want to do all I can to repay your kindness, but with my dear mother a captive, I can no longer render you any service. Therefore I must leave you and hope we will meet again later.”