“Liu Bei is a menace to our existence and I think he must be quickly destroyed,” said Xiahou Dun.
“He is one of my anxieties,” replied Cao Cao. “Sun Quan is the other. The rest do not count. I will take this chance to sweep the south clean.”
Then orders were issued to prepare an army of 500,000 men in five divisions. Each had two leaders, except the fifth, which Cao Cao himself commanded. The van was commanded by Xu Chu. A date in the seventh month of the thirteenth year of Jian An was chosen for the army to start the march south.
However, Kong Rong voiced his opposition to the expedition. He said, “Liu Bei and Liu Biao are both of the Imperial House and should not be attacked without serious reasons. Sun Quan, with his six districts, is as powerful as a crouching tiger and, with the Yangtze as his defense, he is very secure. If you undertake this unjustifiable expedition, sir, I fear you will forfeit the respect of the country.”
“All three of them are disobedient officials—how can I fail to punish them?” replied Cao Cao angrily.
Then he dismissed Kong Rong from his presence. Presently he gave formal orders that he would put to death anyone who attempted to remonstrate with him on the subject of his expedition.
Kong Rong went out sadly. Casting his eyes up to Heaven, he sighed: “Where is the chance of success when the inhumane assaults the humane? He is sure to be defeated.”
One of the subordinates of the official Chi Lu, whom Kong Rong had always treated with contempt, happened to hear this remark and told his patron, who carried the tale to Cao Cao. He also added that Kong Rong habitually spoke disrespectfully of the prime minister and had been very friendly with Mi Heng, who used to compare Kong Rong to Confucius and say, “Confucius is not dead”—to which Kong Rong would reply, “Yan Hui* has risen again.”
“In fact,” he continued, “he had encouraged Mi Heng to hurl those insults at you, sir.”
Chi Lu’s tale angered Cao Cao, who ordered his guards to arrest the talented Kong Rong.
Now Kong Rong had two sons, both young, who were sitting at home playing weiqi (a kind of chess), when one of their servants ran in and said, “Your father has just been carried offfor execution—why do you not run away?’
The two young men replied, “When the nest is pulled down can the eggs be left unbroken?”
At that moment, guards came and carried away the whole household. The two youths were beheaded and the father’s corpse was exposed in the street.
Zhi Xi, a friend of Kong Rong’s, came to weep over the corpse. This public exhibition of sympathy rekindled Cao Cao’s anger and he wanted to punish it with death. However, this additional cruelty was prevented by the advisor Xun Yu, who said, “You should not slay a righteous man who came to mourn over his friend’s corpse. He had often warned Kong Rong of the danger of his uncompromising honesty.”
Zhi Xi then collected the remains of the father and sons and buried them. A poem was written to praise Kong Rong:
Kong Rong, who dwelt on the north sea shore,
A noble reputation bore;
With him all guests warm welcome found,
And ceaselessly the wine went round.
For skill in letters he was famed,
In speech, he dukes and princes shamed,
Historians his merits tell,
Recorders say that he did well.
After wreaking his wrath on Kong Rong, Cao Cao issued the order for the five divisions of his army to start on the expedition. Xun Yu was left in command of the capital.
At about this time Liu Biao became seriously ill and he summoned Liu Bei to his chamber. He went, accompanied by his two brothers and Zhuge Liang. Liu Biao said, “The disease has attacked my very vitals and my time is short. I want to leave my sons to your guardianship. Neither of them seems to be fit to succeed in my place, and I pray you, brother, to administer the district after my death.”
Liu Bei wept and said, “I will do my utmost to help my nephews and will never cherish any other design for myself.”
At this moment came the news of the imminent invasion by Cao Cao. Liu Bei, taking hasty leave of his kinsman, returned to his own place. The evil tidings aggravated the sick man’s condition and he began to prepare for death. In his testament he appointed Liu Bei the guardian of his elder son Liu Qi, who was to succeed him as ruler of the prefecture.
This arrangement greatly angered his wife Lady Cai. She closed the inner doors against all and told her brother, Cai Mao, and another man, Zhang Yun, to guard the outer gates.
The heir was at Jiangxia and he came to make filial inquiries as soon as he learned about his father’s serious condition. But Cai Mao refused him admittance, saying: “Your father sent you to guard Jiangxia, which is a grave responsibility. You should by no means quit the place without orders. What if it was attacked by Sun Quan? If your father sees you he will be very angry and it will make him worse. That would be most undutiful and you should return to your post at once.”
For some time Liu Qi stood outside the gate, crying bitterly. As waiting seemed futile he returned to his position. Meanwhile, his father’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He anxiously looked for his elder son but hardly did he know the reason why the young man did not appear. One day in the eighth month he uttered loud cries and then passed away.
When the Yuans were lords of the north,
And Biao held the bank of the river,
It seemed, so strong were they both,
That they would endure for ever.
But the women folk troubled their states,
And, meddling, confusion made;
It was mournful indeed to see
How quickly their houses decayed.
So the prefect died. Then the widow and her partizans took counsel together and forged a testament conferring the lordship of Jingzhou on the second son, Liu Zong, before they informed the others of his death.
The lad was then only fourteen years of age but quite clever of mind, so he assembled the officials and said, “My father has passed away. However, my elder brother is at Jiangxia and what is more, our uncle is at Xinye. You have made me lord, but if my brother and uncle come here with an army to punish me for usurping the lordship, what explanation can I offer?’
Before the others could reply an advisor named Li Gui rose and said, “You are absolutely right, Master Zong. You must now hasten to break the sad news of our lord’s death to your brother and ask him to come and take charge of the city. Also call upon Liu Bei to come and assist in the administration. Then we will be able to resist our enemies both in the north and the south. This is the best plan.”
Cai Mao at once shouted at him harshly, “Who do you think you are that dare to speak such nonsense and oppose the testament of our late lord?”
Li Gui began to abuse him: “You and your fellow plotters have fabricated this testament, setting aside the rightful heir. Now our nine districts will be lost to the Cai family. If our dead lord knew of your doings he would slay you.”
Cai Mao flew into rage and ordered the loyal official to be put to death. He was hustled out but he never ceased abusing the evil Cai Mao before he died.
So the younger son was placed in his father’s seat and the Cai clan shared among them the whole military authority of the district. The defense of Jingzhou was given to Deng Yi and Liu Xian, while Lady Cai and her son took up their residence in Xiangyang so as to be out of reach of the rightful heir and his uncle. They interred the remains of the late prefect in the east of Xiangyang. No obituary was sent to Liu Qi, the son, or to his uncle Liu Bei.
Liu Zong arrived at Xiangyang, but before he’d had time to recover from the fatigue of the journey, there came the startling news of the approach of Cao Cao’s huge army. He immediately summoned Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, and the others for counsel. One of them, Fu Xuan, offered his advice, saying, “Not only are we threatened by a great army, but your brother at Jiangxia and Liu Bei at Xinye are also to be reckoned with. These two have not yet been notified of our lat
e lord’s death, and they will resent that. We will be in peril if they also oppose us. But if you will adopt my advice, then our people will be as safe as Mount Tai and your position and rank will be assured.”
“What is your advice?” asked the young lord.
“To offer all the nine districts to Cao Cao, who will treat you most liberally.”
“What nonsense!” reputed Liu Zong angrily. “Am I to yield my late father’s heritage to another when I have barely succeeded to it?”
“The advice is good,” said Kuai Yue. “The concepts of conformity and deviation are well defined, so are strength and weakness. In the name of the Emperor Cao Cao is attacking both south and north. If you oppose him you will be accused of acting against the Emperor. Besides, you are not yet firmly established in your position yet you are now faced with external invasion and, most likely, internal trouble as well. Our people will be panic-stricken at the mere news of the approach of Cao Cao’s army. How can we then offer any resistance?”
Liu Zong replied, “It is not that I will not follow your advice, but I fear I will be a laughingstock to the whole country if I were to abandon my inheritance without an effort.”
He was interrupted by another speaker who said, “Their advice is very good, why not follow it?”
They turned toward the speaker and saw that he was Wang Can of Shanyang, a short and lean man. However, his talents did not conform to his physical appearance. When he was yet a youth he went to visit the famous scholar Cai Yong, then an official in court, and although many guests of exalted rank were present, the host hastened to welcome the newcomer with the greatest deference. The others were astonished and asked why he was so respectful to a mere youth.
“He is an unusually gifted young man, more learned than me,” said Cai Yong.
Wang Can was widely read and had a most retentive memory, better than any of his contemporaries. Once, he glanced at a roadside monument as he passed and he remembered every word of the inscription. Another time, when he was watching people playing weiqi and the board was overturned, he replaced every piece in its proper place. He was also a good mathematician and his poems were exquisite. At seventeen he was appointed a palace official but did not take up the appointment. When the disturbance in the empire grew serious he sought refuge in Jingzhou, where he was received with great honor by the prefect.
That day he asked his young master, “My lord, how do you compare with Cao Cao?”
“Inferior,” replied Liu Zong.
Wang Can continued, “Cao Cao has veteran soldiers and bold officers— he is able and resourceful. He has wiped out numerous rivals and suppressed rebellions. To name a few examples, he has captured Lu Bu, eliminated Yuan Shao, drove Liu Bei into Longyou, and destroyed Ta Dun at the White Wolf Hills. Now he is on his way here and it will be very difficult to withstand him. The submission proposed by Fu Xuan and Kuan Yue is the best you can expect and you should not delay and hesitate till it is too late, for that will bring only regret.”
“Worthy sir, you indeed speak to the point but I must inform my mother,” said the young master.
But just then they saw his mother appear from behind a screen—she had been listening to all that was said.
“Why refer to me when three of them agree in their opinions?” she said.
So he decided on submission and the letter of surrender was composed. Song Zhong was entrusted with the job of conveying it secretly to Cao Cao. He went straight to Cao Cao’s headquarters and presented the letter. It was received with rapture and the bearer was well rewarded. The submission was accepted and Song Zhong was told to tell his master to come out of the city to welcome Cao Cao—then he would be confirmed in perpetual tenure of his land.
Song Zhong left and took the homeward way. He had nearly reached the ferry when he fell in with a body of troops. On a closer look he saw the leader was Guan Yu. The messenger tried to avoid being seen but was stopped by Guan Yu, who questioned him for details of what had happened in Jingzhou. At first he prevaricated, but on being closely questioned, revealed the whole story. Guan Yu was greatly startled so he took the man to Xinye and made him repeat his story to Liu Bei, who was also extremely alarmed.
Zhang Fei said, “In that case I propose that we put this fellow to death, then cross the river to take Xiangyang, and slay the mother and son. After that we can fight with Cao Cao.”
But Liu Bei told him to keep silent and said that he knew what to do. Then turning to the prisoner he said reproachfully, “You knew they did all this. Why didn’t you come to tell me? As things stand now there is nothing to be gained by killing you. Leave here at once.”
Song Zhong stammered his thanks and, throwing his hands over his head, quickly ran away.
Liu Bei was very sad. As he sat worrying about the critical situation, Liu Qi’s messenger, Yi Qi, was announced. Liu Bei was very grateful to this man for having saved his life before so he went down the steps to welcome him.
Yi Qi said, “The young master has heard that his father is dead, but his stepmother and her family have kept back the news and have set up Liu Zong as the new ruler. He knows the news is true, as he has sent a special messenger to find out. He is afraid that you might still be in the dark so he has sent me to deliver this obituary and he begs you to lead all the men you have to Xiangyang to help him assert his rights.”
Liu Bei read the letter. Then he said, “Well, you only know that the younger son has usurped the lordship, but you hardly know that he has already offered the nine districts to Cao Cao.”
This news shocked Yi Qi. “Where did you get this news?” he asked.
Liu Bei told him of the capture of Song Zhong. Yi Qi said, “In that case you can use the excuse of mourning over our late lord’s death to go to Xiangyang and so draw Liu Zong out of the city to welcome you. Then you can seize him, slay his party, and take the district.”
“This is good advice,” said Zhuge Liang. “My lord, you ought to take it.”
Tears rolled down his face as Liu Bei said, “On his deathbed my brother entrusted his sons to my care. If I lay hands upon one of his sons and seize the land, how will I be able to look my brother in the face when I meet him bye and bye under the nine springs?”
“If you do not act in this way now how will you repel Cao Cao, who has already reached Wancheng?” asked Zhuge Liang.
“We can take refuge in Fancheng,” replied Liu Bei.
At about this time scouts came to say that Cao Cao’s army had reached Bowang. So Yi Qi was immediately sent back with instructions for Liu Qi to prepare the defense of Jiangxia, while Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang discussed plans for countering the enemy.
Zhuge Liang urged his master to take heart. As he had seen the last army destroyed by fire, so would he see this one suffer the same strategy. He said, “We can no longer stay here. Better move over to Fancheng as soon as possible.”
Then notices were posted at the four gates to inform all the residents, men or women, old or young, that, if they would, they could follow their ruler at once to the new city to escape danger. Sun Qian was entrusted with the job of preparing boats to transport the people and Mi Zhu was responsible for the safe conveyance of the families of the officials.
Then the officers assembled to take orders from Zhuge Liang. Guan Yu, at the head of a thousand men, was to lay an ambush at the upper reaches of the White River. His men were to carry bags to be filled up with sand and earth to dam the river, until they heard the arrival of the enemy at the lower reaches, at about the third watch the next day. Then the waters were to be freed to drown their foe. At the same time he was to come downstream to join in the fight.
Zhang Fei, with another thousand men, was to go to Boling Ferry, where the current was the slowest. After the waters of the White River had been let loose on Cao Cao’s men they would surely attempt to get across the river at the ferry. He was to attack them while they were trying to escape.
Zhao Yun was to divide 3,000 soldiers into four sections and take one
to lie in wait outside the east gate. The other three were to be posted outside the other gates. But before they left for their posts they were to pile sulfur niter and other combustibles onto the roofs of the houses in the city.
The intention was to again attack the enemy with fire. When Cao Cao’s men arrived, they would certainly look for shelter first. There would be a strong wind the following evening, which would fan the flames. When this wind began to blow, Zhao Yun’s men were to shoot arrows of fire into the city from the south, west, and north gates. When the flames were high the men were to raise a great shouting outside to add to the general terror. The east gate was to be left free for the enemy to escape, but as they did so they would be smitten by Zhao Yun, who was to join Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at daybreak—together they would set out for Fancheng after the battle.
Other orders were given to Mi Fang and Liu Feng, who were to take command of 2,000 men, one half carrying red flags and the other half blue flags. They were to camp at Magpie Tail slope, about thirty li from the city. At the sight of Cao Cao’s army the soldiers with red flags were to move on the left and those with blue flags were to move on the right. The enemy would be so confused that they would be afraid to advance further. The two of them should wait until they saw the city on fire. Then they were to attack the defeated enemy and later to move forward to the upper reaches of the river to assist in the fighting against Cao Cao’s men.
All the orders being given, the various officers went their way to take up their positions and await the burning of the city. Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei stood on a promontory, where they could witness what would happen and await for reports of victory.
Meanwhile, Cao Ren and Cao Hong, with their 100,000 men, preceded by Xu Chu, leading 3,000 mailed men, marched toward Xinye. They presented a formidable sight. They reached Magpie Tail slope about noon. Looking ahead, they saw what seemed a substantial army with blue and red flags. Xu Chu urged his men to press forward. But, as he got near, the soldiers holding the flags moved respectively to the right and left and he hesitated. Suspecting an ambush, Xu Chu called a halt and rode back to the main army to see Cao Ren.