The Three Kingdoms, Volume 3: Welcome the Tiger: The Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation (19 page)

They fell into a sullen silence. Then Zhou Tai said, “At present Sun Huan, nephew of our prince, is besieged at Yiling, anxious for food and relief forces. I venture to request you to get him out of his plight with a wonderful scheme so as to set the prince’s heart at peace.”

Lu Xun replied, “I know General Sun is well-loved by his men and he can surely maintain his position. There is no need to go to his aid. When Shu is broken the siege will be lifted.”

They all snickered as they left the tent, and Han Dang did not fail to express his contempt for the newly appointed commander.

“This will be the end of Wu,” he said to Zhou Tai. “Did you note what he said?”

“I asked him that question purposely to see how he would respond,” said Zhou Tai. “And he had no plan whatsoever. He will destroy Shu indeed!”

The next day general orders were issued for a strict defense of all posts, which provoked more laughter among the officers, who thought him cowardly and resolved to disregard his command. So once more Lu Xun assembled them and said, “I am authorized by the prince to command. Yesterday I gave orders for defense to be firmly observed. Why have they been disobeyed?”

Han Dang spoke up. “Since I first followed General Sun (Sun Jian) in conquering the region south of the Yangtze I have been in hundreds of battles. The other officers have either fought under his eldest son, Sun Ce, or the present prince. All of us are valiant fighters who have braved every kind of danger, adorned in our armor and armed with our sharp-edged weapons. Now, sir, you have been placed in supreme command to repulse Shu, and you should design some definite plan of campaign at once, making dispositions of our forces and directing us to advance toward that great end. But instead of that you tell us to strengthen our defense and forbid us to fight. What are we to wait for? Will Heaven destroy our opponents for us? We are not afraid to die. Why is our keen fighting spirit left to be eaten away and our energy wasted in idleness?”

All the others applauded this speech. “General Han is right. We are willing to fight a decisive battle against our enemy,” they cried in unison.

The new general waited till the uproar had subsided. Then drawing his sword, he shouted, “Though I am but a student of books, I have been entrusted with a great task, a task for which the prince considers me competent and for the performance of which I am prepared to bear all the responsibilities. As for you, you will do well to act on the defensive as I ordered and not allow yourselves to act rashly. Whoever dares to disobey will be put to death!”

This speech only angered his officers more and they dispersed in resentment.

As has been mentioned, the First Ruler had set up altogether forty camps covering seven hundred
li,
starting from Xiaoting and reaching back to the borders of Shu. These camps looked very imposing, with their numerous fluttering banners that obscured the sun by day and their fires that illumined the sky at night. Here the Fist Ruler received a report of the arrival of the new commander of the Wu army and his policy of strong defense.

“What sort of a man is this Lu Xun?” he asked.

“He is famous as a scholar among the people of Wu and, though young, he is very talented and full of guile,” replied Ma Liang. “He was the author of the crafty plan that led to the fall of Jingzhou.”

The First Ruler became very angry. “That brat! His cunning scheme caused the death of my two brothers. I must capture him this time.”

He gave orders to advance. Ma Liang tried to dissuade him. “Be very careful,” he said. “This Lu Xun is no inferior to Zhou Yu in talent.”

“I have fought so many battles,” retorted the First Ruler. “Do you think I am no match for this callow youth?”

He himself led the army to attack key positions of the Wu army. Han Dang notified his chief of this and Lu Xun, afraid that his officers might disobey his defensive order, hastened to the scene of danger. He found Han Tang on a hill surveying the enemy’s force, which advanced like a great wave. Then the commander and his veteran general rode side by side to look. Amidst the army they saw now and again a wide yellow umbrella, and Han Tang pointed it out to his chief.

“That must be Liu Bei,” he said. “I should like to attack him.”

“Be careful,” said Lu Xun. “So far he has scored victory after victory, and his men are very keen and confident. Our best policy is to maintain a careful defense of the heights and dangerous passes and not to go forth to battle. If you do, you will lose. Impress this upon your officers and men and make them understand the strategy. Follow closely the enemy’s movements and wait for mishaps to occur. They are now smug and complacent, riding freely in the wide open space of the plain. We will observe a determined defense and ignore any challenge to battle. As their desire for war is unsatisfied they will move their camps beside hills and into the forests. Then I will spring a surprise attack to defeat them.”

Han Dang agreed so far as words went, but in his heart he was still unconvinced.

When the Shu army drew near, the First Ruler ordered his vanguard force to challenge. They shouted all sorts of abuse and hurled taunts to put their opponents to shame, but Lu Xun took no notice and told his men to simply turn a deaf ear. He would not allow them to go out to battle, but he went from fort to redoubt, encouraging the soldiers to remain on the defensive.

The First Ruler’s heart burned inside at this refusal to come out to do battle, and it angered him furthermore that Ma Liang drummed into him how clever Lu Xun was.

“Your Majesty’s troops have come from afar and this war has lasted from spring to summer,” said Ma Liang. “His refusing to fight can only mean he is waiting for some mishaps to occur in our army so that he may profit. Please consider this.”

“What ruse can he have?” said Liu Bei contemptuously. “He is only afraid, I say. Their army has suffered nothing but defeat so far. They dare not come out to meet us.”

One day Feng Xi came to see the First Ruler and said, “The weather is scorching and the troops are camped in the full glare of the sun. And it is very inconvenient for them to get water.”

Therefore the First Ruler gave an order to move the camps into the shade of the forest or by the brooks and streams till the summer heat was over. Feng Xi took the order and arranged the moving of the troops to shady spots.

But Ma Liang was dubious about the wisdom of this move. “If the enemy rush out on us while we are moving camp, we will be hard pushed to defend ourselves.”

“I have already thought about that,” said the First Ruler. “I will send Wu Ban with 10,000 of our weaker soldiers to encamp near their lines. But I will choose 8,000 veterans and place them in ambush. When Lu Xun knows that we are moving camp he will surely take the opportunity to come out and attack us. I will tell Wu Ban to flee before his men and lead them into my ambush. Then I will cut off their retreat. This Lu Xun will be captured, I think.”

“A genius in planning and a marvel in prevision,” extolled all those about him as this plan was explained. “None of us can approach Your Majesty’s wisdom.”

However, Ma Liang ventured to suggest something different. “They say the prime minister is on a tour of inspection of various passes in the eastern part of Shu, to guard against any possible attacks from Wei. Why not send him a sketch of your present dispositions of troops and ask his opinion?”

“I am also quite familiar with the art of war,” replied the First Ruler. “I see no reason why we should ask the prime minister.”

Ma Liang responded: “The ancients said, ‘Listen to both sides and you will be clear-minded; listen to only one side and you will be in the dark.’ I hope Your Majesty will consider this.”

“Well, then, you go round to all the camps and make four to eight maps and take them to the prime minister. If he finds any fault, come and tell me at once.”

So Ma Liang went away while the First Ruler busied himself with getting his men into shelter, out of the fierce heat of the sun. The move was quickly discovered by the enemy scouts and reported to Han Dang and Zhou Tai, who rejoiced at the news and soon went to tell Lu Xun that all the enemies’ camps had been moved into the shade.

“Now, sir, you can attack!” they urged.

‘Twas not a bad plan of Shu, an ambush to lay,
Should the men of Wu go out they would soon be slain.

Lu Xun’s reaction to their advice will be told in the next chapter.

*
   A gesture expressing joy by the ancient Chinese.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

Lu Xun Burns His Enemy’s Seven Hundred Li of Camps

Zhuge Liang Cleverly Plans the Eight Arrays

T
he
last chapter closed with Han Dang and Zhou Tai coming to report to their commander that the First Ruler had shifted camp in search of shade from the sun and the news was very welcome to Lu Xun. He went with them to see for himself and to observe the new position. Encamped on the level plain below was a troop of about 10,000 men who appeared to be mostly old and weak soldiers. On the banner of their leader he read the name Wu Ban.

“To me these men are mere weeds,” said Zhou Tai. “Let me and General Han go out and smite them. If we do not win we will pay the penalty.”

The commander-in-chief made no reply, but remained surveying the ground before him. Pointing with his whip at the valley ahead, he said, “Down there is an air of slaughter. They must have set an ambush there. These poor troops in the foreground are nothing but a bait. You gentlemen are not to leave your positions under any circumstances.”

His officers took this only as another proof of his cowardice. The next day Wu Ban’s men approached closer and challenged them to battle, swaggering about and brandishing their weapons and shouting volleys of abuse without end. They manifested contempt by throwing off their armor and clothing, exposing their bodies and naked forms, blatantly unready to fight. Some even sat or lay asleep.

Two other officers went to the commander’s tent to complain of these insults and ask for permission to go out and punish the enemy, but Lu Xun only smiled.

“You rely only on your brute courage, but you are not aware of the wonderful schemes of war laid down by the ancient strategists Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. This display is only meant to entice us out to fight. You will see their trick yourselves in three days.”

“In three days they will have completed their change of camp and will be too strongly positioned for us to win,” the officers replied.

“I want them to move their camp.”

These two left the tent also snickering. But three days later he assembled all the officers at a lookout point from where they saw that Wu Ban’s men had left.

“The air of slaughter is rising,” said Lu Xun. “Liu Bei will soon appear from the valley.”

He was right. Very soon they saw a whole army, all well accoutered, pass across the field escorting the First Ruler. And the sight took away all their courage.

“That is why I would not listen to your wish to fight,” said Lu Xun. “Now that the ambush is withdrawn we can strike them in about ten days.”

“The proper time to attack was at the very beginning. Now after about seven months’ standoff with us they are firmly established in their encampments stretching hundreds of
li
. How can they be destroyed?”

“You people do not seem to understand the strategies of warfare. This Liu Bei is powerful as well as crafty. When he first started on this expedition his methods were of the best, but after a long period of inaction his men are slack in discipline and his thoughts cease to be clear. That will be our time to attack.”