Xuande could not have been more delighted. With all his forces reunited, he started planning to defeat Cao Cao. Kongming said, "Xiakou enjoys natural defenses and has ample cash and grain. It can be held indefinitely. I advise you, my lord, to station yourself there. Let Master Qi return to Jiangxia, work his navy into fighting condition, and prepare his weapons. We can hold Cao Cao off by thus placing our forces in pincer formation. For us to return to Jiangxia together would leave us isolated." "Wise counsel," Liu Qi said. "However, uncle, I thought I would invite you to stop at Jiangxia first and put your forces in shape. After that there'll be time enough for you to proceed to Xiakou." "My worthy nephew has a point," Xuande said and, after dispatching Lord Guan to Xiakou with five thousand men, he headed for Jiangxia with Kongming and Liu Qi.
Lord Guan's intervening land force had deterred Cao Cao from pursuing Xuande. Fearing an ambush, Cao Cao marched directly to Jiangling lest Xuande, traveling by water, take it before him.
In Jiangling the provincial secretary Deng Yi and the assistant inspector Liu Xian had already learned that Liu Zong had surrendered Xiangyang to Cao Cao. Unable to offer any defense against Cao Cao, the two officials led their armed forces out past the walls of the capital and submitted to the prime minister. Cao Cao entered the city and, after calming the populace, freed Han Song and put him in charge of protocols.4 Other officials were given fiefs and handsome gifts.
Cao Cao said to his generals, "Xuande has fled to Jiangxia. If he forms an alliance with Sun Quan, our problems will multiply. What is the best way to defeat him?" "Now that we are in the field on a grand scale," Xun You advised, "send a messenger to the Southland summoning Sun Quan to join you in Jiangxia for a hunting party—with Xuande as the quarry! Offer Sun Quan half of Jingzhou to seal your amity. He will be too frightened, too confused not to submit. Our cause will thrive." Cao Cao approved this advice and sent an envoy south. At the same time he called up a force of eight hundred and thirty thousand—infantry, cavalry, and marines—which he rumored numbered a full million. Cao Cao's host advanced by land and sea. The cavalry rode along the Great River parallel to the long line of war-boats stretching westward back as far as Jiangling and the gorges, and eastward as far as Qichun and Huangzhou. The encampments extended for three hundred li.
In the Southland Sun Quan, stationed at Chaisang, heard that Cao Cao had accepted Liu Zong's submission and was marching on Jiangling double time. He therefore assembled his counselors to discuss the defense of the Southland. Lu Su said, "Jingzhou adjoins our territory. Rivers and mountains protect it. Its people are prosperous. If we can seize and hold the province, we will acquire the resources to establish our rule over the empire. I propose that you send me to Jiangxia to offer your official condolences on the occasion of Liu Biao's death. I believe I can persuade the newly defeated Liu Bei to encourage Liu Biao's commanders to make common cause with us against Cao Cao. Liu Bei's cooperation would provide a firm basis for our grand strategy." Sun Quan adopted the proposal and dispatched Lu Su to Jiangxia with mourning gifts.
At Jiangxia, Xuande, Kongming, and Liu Qi were conferring. "Cao Cao is too powerful. We cannot oppose him," Kongming said. "The best we can do is turn to Sun Quan for support. If the south keeps Cao Cao at bay to the north, we can pluck advantage from between them—and why not?" "The Southland is well endowed with worthy men," Xuande said. "They are bound to have their own long-range plans and have little need of us." With a smile Kongming responded, "Cao leads a million-man host. He's perched like a tiger on the Great River and the Han. You can be sure the south will be sending someone to find out about his strengths and weaknesses. And when he comes, I'll take a little sail south down the river. Trust my three inches of limber tongue to induce the south and the north to devour each other. If the southern armies are prevailing, we'll join them, settle Cao, and retake Jingzhou. If the northern armies are prevailing, we will have the possibility of taking the Southland itself!" "A profound estimation of the situation," Xuande said. "But how do we get a Southlander to come here?"
That very moment Lu Su was announced. He had arrived by boat bearing Sun Quan's condolences for the death of Liu Biao. "Our plans will carry," Kongming said with a smile. Turning to Liu Qi, he asked, "When Sun Ce died, was anyone sent to the services?" "There was deep enmity between our houses," Liu Qi replied, "for we had slain his father, Sun Jian. Exchanging ceremonial embassies would have been unthinkable." "Then," Kongming said, "Lu Su comes for no obsequies, but to sound out the military situation." Turning to Xuande he went on, "My lord, if Lu Su questions you concerning Cao's movements, simply plead ignorance. If he persists, send him to me." His analysis completed, Kongming had Lu Su escorted into the city.
After accepting the ritual gifts for the bereaved, Liu Qi bade Lu Su present himself to Xuande. After the formal introduction Xuande invited the envoy to a private chamber, where wine was served. "Long has the imperial uncle's great name been known to me," Lu Su began, "though I have never had occasion to pay the man himself due homage. Our fortunate meeting today now satisfies that wish. They say you have joined battle with Cao Cao. I presume, therefore, that you know something about his strengths and vulnerabilities, and I venture to ask the approximate number of his forces." "Our own numbers," Xuande replied, "are insignificant, our generals few. No sooner do we hear of his approach than we make off. So, actually, I am unable to answer your question." "But I'm told," Lu Su pressed, "Zhuge Kongming twice succeeded in burning out Cao Cao and that Cao Cao twice lost his nerve. Your answer is difficult to accept." "If you must know the details," Xuande replied, "you will have to put your questions to Kongming himself." "Where would I find him?" Lu Su asked. "A meeting is what I desire." Xuande bade Kongming come forth and meet Lu Su.
The introduction concluded, Lu Su spoke: "Your talents and your virtue have ever been the objects of my esteem. But I have not had the honor of being presented to you. Now that fortune has made it possible, I would learn your view of the present state of affairs." Kongming replied, "I am well informed of Cao Cao's cunning devices. But, alas, our strength falls far short of his, and we have been avoiding engagement."5 "Will the imperial uncle be remaining here, then?" Lu Su asked. "Lord Liu," Kongming answered, "has an old friend, Wu Ju, governor of Changwu, south of Jingzhou, in northern Jiaozhou. He will entrust himself to his care." "Wu Ju hasn't enough grain or men to protect himself, let alone someone else," Lu Su said. "It will do for now, until we can make other plans," was Kongming's reply.
"General Sun Quan," Lu Su said earnestly, "holds the six districts of the Southland firmly in his hands. His soldiers are keen, his grain abundant. And because he shows the utmost courtesy to men of worth, heroes from all along the Great River have joined his cause. What could better serve your interest than to send a man you trust to the south for the purpose of forging an alliance with us to plan the conquest of the realm?" "Lord Liu and General Sun," Kongming said, "had no ties in the past. Your lord would turn a deaf ear to us, I fear. And we have no one to send." "Your own elder brother," Lu Su responded, "presently serving the Southland as an adviser, looks forward daily to seeing you. I myself have nothing to contribute. But I beg to go with you, sir, to see General Sun, so that we can confer on the future of the empire."
Finally, Xuande intervened. "Kongming is my mentor," he said. "I cannot spare him, even for a brief time. He may not go." Xuande feigned resistance to Lu Su's repeated appeals until Kongming said, "Matters are urgent. If you will authorize it, there's no harm in seeing what might come of a visit down there." At these words Xuande granted permission. Lu Su bade Xuande and Liu Qi good-bye and, together with Kongming, boarded his boat for the sail to Chaisang. Indeed:
Because Kongming traveled south,
Cao Cao's armies would taste sudden defeat.
The following chapter tells what Kongming meant to do.6
Read on.
43
Kongming Debates the Southern Officials;
Lu Su Rejects the Consensus
Lu
Su and Kongming bade Xuande and Liu Qi good-bye and sailed for Chaisang. On board they reviewed the situation. "When you see General Sun, sir," Lu Su emphasized, "be sure to avoid mentioning how large and well-commanded Cao Cao's army is." "There is no need, Su, to keep reminding me of this," responded Kongming. "I will make my own replies to him." When their boat docked, Lu Su invited Kongming to rest at the guesthouse while he went ahead to see Sun Quan.
Sun Quan was already in council with his officers and officials. Informed of Lu Su's return, Quan summoned him and asked, "What did you learn in Jiangxia about the state of Cao Cao's forces?" "I have a general idea," replied Su, "but I will need time to report in full, sire." Quan showed him Cao Cao's summons and said, "Cao Cao had this delivered yesterday. I have sent the envoy back while we debate our response." Cao's note said:
Under a recent imperial mandate, I have authority to act against state criminals. Our banners tilted southward; Liu Zong bound his hands in submission. The populace of Jingzhou, sensing the direction of events, has transferred its allegiance to us. We have one million hardy warriors and a thousand able generals. We propose that you join us, General, in a hunting expedition to Jiangxia in order to strike the decisive blow against Liu. Then, sharing the territory between us, we may seal an everlasting amity. Please do not hesitate but favor us with a speedy reply.
After he had read the document, Lu Su said to Sun Quan, "What is your most honored view, my lord?" "A decision has yet to be reached," he responded. The adviser Zhang Zhao joined the discussion, saying, "Commanding a host of one million, cloaked in the Emperor's authority, Cao Cao has campaigned the length and breadth of the land. To resist is to rebel. Moreover, your major advantage was the Great River—until Cao Cao took Jingzhou. Now we share the river's strategic benefits with him. Really, there is no opposing him, and in my poor estimation we would do better with the total security which submission will afford." "Zhang Zhao's views," the counselors declared in unison, "conform to the wishes of Heaven itself." But Sun Quan pondered in silence. "Have no doubts, my lord," Zhang Zhao continued. "If we submit to Cao, the people of the region will be protected and the six districts of the Southland preserved."1 Sun Quan lowered his head and said nothing.
A moment later Sun Quan rose to go to the privy. Lu Su followed. Aware that Su did not share the views of Zhang Zhao, Quan turned to him and asked, "But what is your mind on this?" "The majority's view, General, will be your ruin," Su replied. "They can submit to Cao, but you cannot" "What are you saying?" Quan asked. "For someone like me," Su went on, "submission means being sent home to my clan, my village. Eventually I'll regain high office. But what have you to go home to? A minor estate? A single carriage? A single mount? A handful of followers? And what of your claim to royalty? Your advisers all consider only themselves. You must not heed them. It is time to make a master plan for yourself."
At these words Sun Quan sighed. "Their counsel fails my hopes," he said. "But the point you make—the master plan— accords well with my thinking. You come to me by Heaven's favor.2 Cao Cao, however, has Yuan Shao's legions as well as the troops of Jingzhou. He seems impossible to resist." "I have brought back with me," Su went on, "Zhuge Jin's younger brother, Liang. Put your questions to him, my lord, and he will explain how things stand." "Master Sleeping Dragon is here?" exclaimed Quan. "Resting in the guesthouse," answered Lu Su. "It's too late to see him today," Quan said. "Tomorrow I shall gather my civil and military officers so he can get acquainted with the eminent men of the south before we proceed to formal discussion." Lu Su went to arrange things accordingly.
The following day Lu Su came for Kongming. Again he warned the guest not to mention the size of Cao Cao's army. "Let me respond as I see fit," Kongming said with a smile. "Nothing shall go amiss, I assure you." Lu Su conducted Kongming to the headquarters of General Sun, where he was introduced to Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, and some twenty other officials and officers of the first rank. As they sat erect in full dress, with their high formal caps and broad belts, Kongming was presented to each in turn. The formalities concluded, Kongming was shown to the guest's seat.
From Kongming's air of self-assurance and dignified, confident carriage, Zhang Zhao and the others understood that he had come to exert his powers of persuasion. Zhao initiated the discussion with a provocative comment: "I, the least of the Southland's scholars, have been hearing for some time how you, ensconced in Longzhong, have compared yourself to the great ministers of antiquity, Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. Have you actually made such claims?" "There could be some slight basis for the comparison," was Kongming's reply. "I have also heard that Liu Xuande,3 protector of Yuzhou, solicited you three times at that thatched hut and, considering himself fortunate to get you—'a fish finding water' was how he put it—expected to roll up Jingzhou in the palm of his hand. Now that the province belongs to Cao Cao, we await your explanation."
Aware that Zhang Zhao was Sun Quan's foremost adviser—the man he had to confound or else lose all hope of convincing Quan himself—Kongming replied, "In my view that province on the River Han could have been taken as easily as one turns one's palm. But my master, Lord Liu, precisely because he conducts himself humanely and honorably, could never bear to steal a kinsman's estate and refused to do so. The adolescent Liu Zong, the victim of insidious counsel, secretly surrendered himself, giving Cao Cao a free hand in the region.4 My master, however, with forces stationed at Jiangxia, has promising prospects of his own, not to be lightly dismissed."
"Then your words and deeds do not agree," said Zhang Zhao. "For the men with whom you are wont to compare yourself helped their lords win fame and power. The patriarch Huan dominated the feudal lords and kept the realm together during Guan Zhong's tenure as minister; and Yue Yi helped the feeble state of Yan subdue the seventy cities of mighty Qi. Those two had the talent to set the empire to rights. But you, sir, have dwelled in a thatched hut, delighting yourself with the breeze and moon, profoundly absorbed in meditation. After you entered Lord Liu's service, we expected you to promote the welfare of the living souls of the realm and to root out and destroy treason and sedition.5
"Before Lord Liu obtained your services, he was already a force to be reckoned with wherever he went, seizing this or that walled town. Now that he has you, people are saying that the ferocious tiger has grown wings and that we will witness the restoration of the Han and the elimination of the Caos. Old servants of the court and recluses of the mountains and forests have begun rubbing their eyes in expectation, imagining that the sky will clear, that the sun and moon will shine again. They hope to see the salvation of the people and the deliverance of the empire in their time.
"One can only wonder why, then, after you had committed yourself to him, Lord Liu scurried for safety the moment Cao Cao stepped into the field, abandoning his obligations to Liu Biao for the security of the people of Jingzhou, and failing to sustain Liu Zong in the defense of his land. And what followed? Lord Liu quit Xinye, fled Fan, lost Dangyang, and bolted to Xiakou for refuge. But no one will have him! The fact is that Lord Liu was better off before you came. How does that measure up to what Guan Zhong and Yue Yi did for their lords? Kindly forgive my simple frankness."
Kongming broke into laughter. "The great roc ranges thousands of miles," he said. " Can the common fowl appreciate its ambition? When a man is gravely ill, he must be fed weak gruel and medicated with mild tonics until his internal state is readjusted and balanced and his condition gradually stabilizes. Only then can meat be added to his diet and powerful drugs be used to cure him. Thus is the root of the disease eradicated and the man's health restored. If you do not wait until breath and pulse are calm and steady but precipitately use powerful drugs and rich food, the attempt to cure the patient is sure to fail.
"When Lord Liu suffered defeat at Runan, he threw himself on Liu Biao's mercy. He had less than a thousand men and no generals at all, except for Lord Guan, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Zilong. He was like a man wasted by disease. Xinye, a small town off in the hills, with few pe
ople and scant grain, was no more than a temporary refuge, hardly a place to hold permanently. And yet, despite our poor weapons, weak city walls, untrained forces, and day-to-day shortages of grain, we burned Cao out at Bowang, flooded him out at the White River, and put his leading generals, Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren, in a state of panic and dismay. I am not sure that Guan Zhong and Yue Yi surpassed us in warfare.
"As for Liu Zong's surrender to Cao Cao, the truth is that Lord Liu knew nothing about it. Nor could he bear to exploit the treason of the Cais to steal a kinsman's estate— such is his great humanity and devotion to honor. In the case of the Dangyang defeat, Lord Liu had several hundred thousand subjects, including the elderly and many young people, who were determined to follow him. Could he leave them to their fate? He was moving a mere ten li each day but never thought of racing ahead to capture Jiangling. He was content to suffer defeat with his people if he had to—another instance of his profound humanity and sense of honor.
"The few cannot oppose the many, and a warrior learns to endure his reverses. The founder of the Han, Gao Zu, was defeated over and over by Xiang Yu, but the final victory at Gaixia was the result of Han Xin's good counsel, was it not? The same Han Xin who, in his long history of service to Gao Zu, had compiled no impressive record of victories! For the grand strategy of the dynasty, the security of our sacred altars, truly there is a master planner, one utterly different from the boasting rhetoricians whose empty reputations overawe people, who have no peer in armchair debate and standing discussions, of whom not even one in a hundred has any idea how to confront a crisis or cope with its rapid development. What a farce to amuse the world!"
Three Kingdoms Page 56