The Three Kingdoms, Volume 3: Welcome the Tiger: The Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation (78 page)

While he was hesitating whether to proceed or not, his scouts came to report that clouds of dust were spotted behind the hills, which indicated an ambush. So he hastened to order retreat. But at that moment the two Wei troops under Deng Zhong and his colleague emerged to attack. Jiang Wei, alternately fighting and retreating, tried to get away. However, in front of him came thunderous shouting and Deng Ai himself appeared to reinforce his men, and the Shu army was sorely smitten by the joint attack of the three enemy forces. Fortunately Xiahou Ba arrived with an army and rescued Jiang Wei from the grave danger.

Jiang Wei desired to return to Qishan but Xiahou Ba said, “The camp there has been destroyed by Chen Tai. Bao Su was killed and the rest of the army has gone back to Hanzhong.”

Jiang Wei dared not proceed through Dongting, but retreated by some unfrequented paths in the hills. Behind them Deng Ai pressed hard in pursuit. Jiang Wei told the others to move ahead while he himself covered the retreat. Suddenly Chen Tai dashed out from the hills. With a loud cry, his men pushed forward and surrounded Jiang Wei. By then, the Shu commander and his horse were extremely fatigued. Although he tried hard to thrust left and right, he failed to break through. At this critical moment Zhang Ni, who had heard of his predicament, came to his rescue with several hundred cavalrymen and Jiang Wei managed to struggle his way free. Zhang Ni saved his commander, but he himself lost his life to enemy arrows. Finally Jiang Wei returned to Hanzhong.

Grateful to Zhang Ni for his loyalty and bravery, and for devoting his life to the imperial cause, Jiang Wei petitioned the Emperor to honor his descendants.

Many blamed Jiang Wei for the loss of lives in the war. So, following the precedent of the late prime minister after the loss of Jieting, Jiang Wei memorialized that he should be degraded in rank and only act as the supreme commander.

The country being now cleared of the enemy, Chen Tai and Deng Ai gave a banquet to celebrate the victory and rewarded their men generously. Chen Tai submitted a memorial to the Emperor of Wei praising the services of Deng Ai, and a special commission gave him an even higher rank with the seal of office. His son was also promoted to marquis.

At this time the style of the reign in Wei was changed to Gan Lu (Sweet Dew). Sima Zhao assumed full command of all military forces in the country. Whenever he went out he was escorted by a guard of 3,000 mail-clad bold men and officers. He decided all state affairs at his own residence, without even consulting the Emperor. Plans for usurping the throne constantly occupied his thoughts.

One of his confidants, Jia Chong by name, son of Jia Kui, a high-ranking general of Wei, was then working as an advisor in Sima Zhao’s house. He said to his master, “Sir, you have now very great power, but the hearts of the people are yet unknown. You should find out who your supporters are and gradually work toward your final goal.”

Sima Zhao replied, “These have been my thoughts for a long time. You can be my emissary to the east to test the feeling there. Say that you are there to reward those who took part in the recent military campaign. That would be a good pretext.”

Accordingly Jia Chong traveled to Huainan to see General Zhuge Dan, who was a cousin of Zhuge Liang. He had always been in the service of Wei but was given no important office while Zhuge Liang was alive. On his cousin’s death his promotion was rapid. He was created Marquis of Gao ping, commanding the forces in Huainan.

On the pretext of rewarding the army for their services, Jia Chong went to see him. Zhuge Dan gave a banquet to entertain him. When host and guest were both mellow with wine, Jia Chong began to probe Zhuge Dan’s sentiment toward his master.

He said provocatively, “Lately in Luoyang there has been much talk among the nobles about the weakness and lack of ability of the Emperor and his unfitness to rule. Now General Sima, whose family has served the country for three generations and whose own merits and virtue are high as the heavens, is the man best fitted to succeed the rule of Wei. I wonder what your esteemed view is.”

But Zhuge Dan flared up in anger, “How could you utter such nonsense? You, who are the son of Governor Jia Kui, and your family always having enjoyed the bounty of Wei?”

Jia Chong tried to explain, “I am only repeating what others have said.”

“If the court is threatened, I am ready to die to preserve it.”

Jia Chong said no more. The following day he took his leave and went to tell his patron what Zhuge Dan had said.

“The rat!” cried Sima Zhao angrily. “How dare he?”

“He is exceedingly popular in Huainan,” said Jia Chong. “If he is left there too long he will do harm to you. You must destroy him at once.”

Sima Zhao began to take measures. On the one hand he wrote a secret letter to Yue Chen, governor of Yangzhou, and on the other sent a messenger with an edict to Zhuge Dan, summoning him to the capital to be in charge of construction work.

When he received the edict Zhuge Dan knew that he had been betrayed, and he interrogated the messenger, who confessed that Yue Chen knew all about the matter.

“How does he know?” asked Zhuge Dan.

“General Sima has sent him a secret letter.”

The messenger was condemned to death. Then Zhuge Dan placed himself at the head of his personal guard and hastened to Yangzhou. The city gates were closed and the drawbridge raised. He summoned the gate, but no one answered.

“How dare this fellow act like this?” he cried.

He ordered his men to force the gates. A dozen of his bold officers dismounted, crossed the moat and swiftly climbed up the wall, where they slew the guards and opened the gates. Zhuge Dan entered with his men and began to set the city to fire. Presently he went to the governor’s residence and Yue Chen tried to seek refuge in a tower, but Zhuge Dan, sword in hand, went after him.

“Your father Yue Jin once received great kindness from the Wei court,” rebuked Zhuge Dan. “Now instead of repaying your country you stoop to follow Sima Zhao.”

Before Yue Chen could answer he was slain. Then Zhuge Dan prepared a memorial listing Sima Zhao’s crimes, and had it sent to Luoyang. At the same time he made preparations for war, gathering troops and supplies. He mobilized all the soldiers stationed in the Huainan region, to the number of more than 100,000, and took over the 40,000 who had surrendered with the fall of Yangzhou. He also sent his advisor Wu Gang to the Kingdom of Wu to propose a joint action against Sima Zhao, offering his son Zhuge Jing as a hostage to indicate his good faith.

At this time Sun Jun had died and his brother, Sun Chen, was prime minister. Cruel and violent, he had put several important ministers to death on his way to power. The ruler of Wu, although no fool, was unable to do anything.

The messenger, Wu Gang, conducted the son of his master to the residence of Sun Chen, who asked him the reason for his visit.

Wu Gang said, “My master Zhuge Dan is a cousin of Zhuge Liang, the late prime minister of Shu. He has been in the service of Wei, but as he sees how Sima Zhao bullies the Emperor, deposes the ruler, and wields his power, he intends to raise an army to destroy the tyrant. As he fears that his military strength is not sufficient he has come to submit to you. To show his good faith he has sent his son Zhuge Jing as a hostage. He entreats you to dispatch an army to assist him.”

The request was received favorably, and Sun Chen sent five officers and 70,000 men to help Zhuge Dan, with Wen Qin as the guide. The army marched in three divisions. Wu Gang returned to report the success of his mission to Zhuge Dan, who was overjoyed and continued his war preparations.

Meanwhile, Zhuge Dan’s memorial enraged Sima Zhao, who wished to command an army in person to annihilate him, but Jia Chong preached caution.

“My lord, you derived your power from your father and brother, and people across the country have not yet had the time to appreciate your virtue and your benevolence. If you leave the Emperor to go on this expedition and subversion happens while you are away, it will be too late to regret. Better request the Empress Dowager and the Son of Heaven to go with you, then nothing will go amiss.”

Sima Zhao thought the plan excellent. He went into the palace and proposed it to Her Majesty, saying, “Zhuge Dan is in revolt. My colleagues and I have discussed the matter and we entreat Your Majesty and the Son of Heaven to accompany the expedition as the late Emperor would have done.”

Too frightened to refuse, the Empress Dowager consented. The next day Sima Zhao requested the Emperor to embark on the expedition.

The Emperor said, “General, you command all the armies and can dispose of them as you will—why is it necessary for me to go?”

Sima Zhao replied, “Your Majesty is wrong to hesitate. In the past, Emperor Wu (Cao Cao) campaigned over the four seas and emperors Wen and Ming (Cao Pi and Cao Rui) had the ambition to conquer the whole empire and the determination to annex the eight wild regions. Wherever there was a major opponent they went in person to face him. Your Majesty should follow their example and sweep the land clean. Why fear?”

So the Emperor was also compelled to give consent. Sima Zhao then issued an edict mobilizing the combined forces in the two capitals, totaling 260,000. Wang Ji and Chen Qian, two distinguished generals, were in command of the van, while Shi Bao and Zhou Tai led the left and right units. The mighty army, escorting the imperial carriages, marched resolutely into Huainan like a great flood.

The Wu army went forth to meet the men of Wei, and both sides drew up for battle. Wang Ji rode out from the Wei side to challenge and Zhu Yi, the van leader of Wu, engaged him. At the third bout Zhu Yi fled in defeat. His colleague Tang Zi rode out but was also beaten in the third encounter. Wang Ji ordered the Wei army to press forward, and the men of Wu were thoroughly worsted. They retreated fifty
li
and camped. News of the setback was sent to Shouchun and Zhuge Dan, together with Wen Qin and his two sons, set out to fight Sima Zhao.

No sooner had they damped Wu’s morale,
Than they saw Wei’s gallant men advance.

Zhuge Dan’s fate will be told in the next chapter.

*
   The Chinese character
Duan
as a verb may mean “break,” “block,” or “broken” when used as an adjective.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE

Yu Quan Dies Nobly to Rescue Shouchun

Jiang Wei Fights Fiercely to Seize Changcheng

H
earing
of this joint attack from Zhuge Dan and the men of Wu, Sima Zhao sought advice from two of his subordinates, Pei Xiu and Zhong Hui.

Zhong Hui said, “The Wu army is helping our enemy for the sake of profit, and hence we can entice them with some bait to win the battle.”

Sima Zhao agreed and deployed his troops accordingly. First, he sent two officers to lay ambushes near Stone City
^*
and another two major officers to stay in the rear with the veterans. Then he ordered a junior officer, Cheng Zu by name, to lead tens of thousands of men out to provoke the enemy into giving a battle. And lastly he told Chen Jun to load wagons, oxen, horses, donkeys, and mules with various articles as rewards for the army, and place them in the midst of the battlefield. All this stuff was intended to be abandoned when the enemy advanced, so as to tempt them to plunder.

On the day of battle Zhuge Dan, with Zhu Yi and Wen Qin on his two sides, looked across at his opponents and saw that the Wei army was in disarray. So he led on his men to attack in full force. Cheng Zu at once retreated and Zhuge Dan went after him in hot pursuit. While chasing the enemy, his men noticed the large quantities of booty strewn all over the fields, so the men of Wu lost all desire to fight but scattered to gather the spoils.