A special envoy was sent to Lord Guan bearing five hundred catties of gold, one thousand of silver, fifty million copper coins, and one thousand rolls of Riverlands silk. Other officials and commanders were rewarded according to their deserts. Oxen and horses were slaughtered to provide a great feast for the soldiers, and the granaries were opened to relieve the suffering of the common people. Soldiers and civilians alike rejoiced.
Having conquered the Riverlands, Xuande proposed to grant his officials Chengdu's most desirable lands and buildings. Zhao Zilong, however, protested: "The people of this province have been through the flames of war so long that they have deserted their fields and dwellings. These properties should be restored to those who live here, for resettlement and economic revival—not taken away for rewarding our own. In that way, our rule will gain acceptance." Xuande gladly followed this advice.9
Next, Xuande instructed Director General Zhuge to revise the legal code, which provided for severe corporal punishment. Fa Zheng said, "When the Supreme Ancestor entered the Qin capital at Xianyang, he reduced the legal code to three provisions,10 and the common people rejoiced in his benevolence. I would like the Director General to satisfy our people's expectations by easing the punitive provisions and curtailing the scope of the laws." "You don't see the whole problem," Kongming replied. "The laws of Qin were punitive and harsh, and the people detested them. That is why the Supreme Ancestor's kindness and leniency won their allegiance. But in this case, Liu Zhang was foolish and weak. His benevolence inspired no dedication, his severity no respect, so relations between lord and vassal have gradually broken down. Vassals he favored with office became cruel as their authority increased; vassals his generosity kept dependable became indifferent as his generosity was exhausted. Herein lies the true cause of Liu Zhang's failure. Our new administration must win respect through legal authority; when the laws are carried out, then the people will appreciate our kindnesses. Moreover, we must use rank to limit ambition so that when rank is granted, the honor will be appreciated. Balanced bestowing of kindness and honor will restore proper relations between lord and vassal, and the principles of good governance will again be manifest." Fa Zheng was persuaded and withdrew his suggestion. Henceforth there was good order in the army and among the population.
The Riverlands' forty-one subdistricts were placed under military control and pacified. Fa Zheng, serving as governor of Shu district, repaid the smallest favor and avenged the slightest grievance. Someone complained to Kongming that Fa Zheng should be rebuked for his overzealous administration. But Kongming replied, "I remember when Lord Liu was a virtual prisoner in Jingzhou, dreading Cao Cao to the north and fearful of Sun Quan to the east. Thanks to Fa Zheng, who lent our lord wings, he soared beyond anyone's reach. How can we restrict Fa Zheng or deny him his way?" Thus, the matter was dropped; but when the complaint came to Fa Zheng's attention, he began to show restraint in his conduct.
One day Xuande and Kongming were chatting, when a message came that Lord Guan had sent his son Ping to thank Xuande for the gold and silk he had been awarded. Xuande summoned the lad. After performing the ritual prostration, Guan Ping delivered Lord Guan's letter. "My father knows that Ma Chao's martial skill surpasses that of other warriors," Ping said. "He wants to come to the Riverlands for a trial of skill and has asked me to petition you, uncle, on this matter." Xuande was shocked. "If Lord Guan comes now to test his strength against Ma Chao," he said, "we will lose one of them." But Kongming said, "I see no harm. Let me send an answer." Xuande, fearing Lord Guan's hasty temper, had Kongming reply; Guan Ping sped the letter to Jingzhou. Lord Guan asked his son, "Did you discuss my trial of strength with Ma Chao?" "Here is the director general's response," Guan Ping replied. Lord Guan unsealed the letter, which read:
I understand you wish a trial with Ma Chao. In my judgment, although Ma Chao is a fiercer warrior than most, he belongs in the category of Ying Bu and Peng Yue. He might prove the equal of your worthy brother, Yide, but could hardly compare with the unique and incomparable ability of our Long-Bearded Lord. Your present governorship of Jingzhou is no slight responsibility. If you came here and Jingzhou were lost, it would be the gravest offense. Please favor us with your discernment.11
After reading the letter, Lord Guan stroked his beard and said with a smile, "How well Kongming knows me." He had the letter shown to his companions, and lost all interest in traveling to the west.
In the Southland Sun Quan learned that Xuande had taken possession of the Riverlands and moved the former inspector, Liu Zhang, to Gong'an. Sun Quan summoned Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong. "At the beginning," he told them, "Liu Bei pledged to return Jingzhou province after taking the Riverlands. He already holds the forty-one subdistricts of Ba and Shu and is about to extend his rule to the Hanzhong districts on the River Han. Either he returns the province now, or the time has come for war." Zhang Zhao objected. "Our land is at peace," he said. "We must not start a war. I have a plan to make Liu Bei restore Jingzhou to us with all humility and respect." Indeed:
As a new day dawns in the Riverlands,
The Southland seeks to satisfy its longstanding claim.
What was Zhang Zhao thinking?
Read on.
66
A Lone Swordsman, Guan Presents Himself at Lu Su's Feast;
Empress Wu Lays Down Her Life for Her House
Zhang Zhao offered a plan for recovering Jingzhou. "Liu Bei relies above all on Zhuge Liang," he said to Sun Quan. "His older brother, Jin, is in our service. What if we arrest Jin's family and send him to the Riverlands with this message: 'My family's safety depends on the return of the province'? Out of fraternal sympathy Liang should agree."1 Sun Quan replied, "Zhuge Jin is an honorable man. How can I arrest his family?" "Tell him outright it's part of the plan," Zhang Zhao returned, "and spare him any worry." Sun Quan approved. He sequestered Zhuge Jin's family in his headquarters and sent Jin west with a letter for Xuande. Not long after, Jin reached Chengdu.
Xuande asked Kongming, "Why did they send your brother here?" "To recover Jingzhou; why else?" was his reply. "How to respond?" Xuande asked. "Just do as I say," Kongming answered. Having set his course, Kongming received his brother outside the city wall and took him directly to the government guesthouse rather than his own home. After the ritual of expressions of respect, Jin let out a sharp cry. "Brother," said Kongming, "is there a problem? You have only to speak. What makes you express such grief?" "My family is done for," Jin said. "Not because of Jingzhou ?" Kongming asked. "If your family has been seized on my account, how can I have a moment's peace? Set your anxieties aside. I have a very simple plan for returning it, once and for all." Elated, Zhuge Jin went with Kongming to see Xuande and deliver his letter.
On reading it Xuande said angrily, "First Sun Quan gave me his sister in marriage, then during my absence from Jingzhou he spirited her away. Imagine how I felt. I could have invaded the Southland to avenge the insult. And now you tell me he wants Jingzhou back!"2 At this point Kongming flung himself to the ground, weeping, and implored Xuande: "Lord Sun has arrested my elder brother's family. If the province is not returned to Sun Quan, they will all be cruelly executed. If I lose my elder brother, how will I survive? I beg Your Lordship, if only for my sake, return Jingzhou to Lord Sun; preserve the fraternal ties that bind my brother and myself." After a show of resistance to Kongming's tearful pleas, Xuande softened and said, "In that case, in view of the director general's personal appeal, I will return one half—the three districts of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang."
"Since we have received your gracious consent," Kongming continued, "would you write to Lord Guan ordering him to make the three districts over to Lord Sun?" Xuande replied, "When Zhuge Jin reaches Jingzhou, it is imperative that he himself put this request to my brother in the most diplomatic terms. You know how volatile my brother can be; I fear him myself. Zhuge Jin, you must exercise the greatest delicacy." Provided with the letter, Zhuge Jin took leave of Xuande, bid his brother good-bye, and went to J
ingzhou.
Lord Guan invited Zhuge Jin into the main hall, and host and guest exchanged salutations. Jin produced Xuande's letter. "The imperial uncle," he said, "has consented to restore three districts to Lord Sun. I trust, General, that you will arrange the transfer at once, so that I may return and face my master in good conscience." But Lord Guan's face darkened as he said, "My brother and I swore in the peach garden to make common cause in upholding the house of Han. Jingzhou is Han's sovereign territory. How could I give anyone an inch of it for no good reason? As they say, 'The general abroad may disregard the king.' Despite this letter, I simply will not 'restore' anything." "Lord Sun has imprisoned my family," Zhuge Jin pleaded, "and will kill them if he doesn't get Jingzhou back. Have pity, General." "That little ruse won't work on me!" responded Lord Guan.3 "Have you no consideration, General?" said Jin. Lord Guan reached for his sword. "Enough!" he cried. "This sword has even less!" Guan Ping added his own appeal: "Father, for the sake of the director general, restrain your anger." "If it were not for the director general, you wouldn't get back to the Southland alive," was Lord Guan's final word to Zhuge Jin.
Thoroughly humiliated, Zhuge Jin exited speedily and sailed west to see Kongming. Kongming was away on a tour of inspection, so it was to Xuande that Zhuge Jin complained that Lord Guan meant to kill him. "My brother is swift to anger," Xuande said, "it is nearly impossible to reason with him. Return to the south for now, and give me some time to complete the conquest of the eastern Riverlands' Hanzhong districts. I will bring Lord Guan over to defend them, and then Jingzhou can be yours once again."
Zhuge Jin had no choice. He returned to Lord Sun and explained all that had taken place. "Your trip," the outraged Sun Quan cried, "dashing back and dashing forth—perhaps it's all a part of Zhuge Liang's plan." "Not at all!" replied Zhuge Jin. "My brother, too, pleaded tearfully with Xuande who finally consented to give back three districts. But Lord Guan stubbornly refused to comply." "In that case," Sun Quan responded, "send our officials on to govern those three districts and see what happens next." "An excellent decision, Your Lordship," Zhuge Jin said. Sun Quan let Jin take his family home.
The southern administrators Sun Quan sent were soon expelled from the three Jingzhou districts that Xuande had promised. "Lord Guan refused to accept us," they complained on returning to the Southland. "He drove us back the night we arrived and ordered anyone resisting to be killed." Enraged, Sun Quan summoned Lu Su. "Did you not serve as Liu Bei's guarantor when he borrowed Jingzhou? Now he has conquered the western Riverlands, but he does not return Jingzhou. Are you content to sit back and watch?" "I have a plan," Lu Su responded, "which I was on my way to offer to you." "Well?" Sun Quan said. "Station troops at Lukou and invite Lord Guan there to a meeting. If he comes, try diplomacy. If he resists, have hidden henchmen kill him. If he does not accept the invitation, sent troops for a showdown and recover Jingzhou." "I approve," Sun Quan replied. "Carry out the plan." But Kan Ze spoke in opposition: "Guan Yunchang is one of the fiercest generals of the age. No ordinary general can match him. Failure will be all the worse for us." "And when do we get Jingzhou back?" Sun Quan asked irritably, and commanded Lu Su to go ahead with the plan.
At Lukou, Lu Su arranged with commanders Lü Meng and Gan Ning to hold a banquet at the Pavilion on the River outside the camp at Lukou. Su prepared the letter of invitation and selected a skillful speaker from his staff to go across the river. On landing, the envoy was questioned by Guan Ping and then brought before Lord Guan to whom he conveyed Lu Su's good wishes and the letter of invitation. Lord Guan read it and said, "Since Lu Su invites me to dinner, I will come tomorrow. You may return."
After the envoy's departure Guan Ping said, "Father, Lu Su means us no good. Why did you accept?" "Do you think I don't know?" Lord Guan replied. "Zhuge Jin has informed Sun Quan that I won't give back the three districts. Sun Quan has therefore sent Lu Su to fortify Lukou and call me to a meeting to press his demand. If I don't go, they'll call me coward. Tomorrow I shall take a light craft down there, a dozen attendants, and my own trusty blade. Let Lu Su try to touch me!" But Guan Ping protested: "Father, for a man as valuable as you to walk into that den of wolves and tigers will compromise your duty to Uncle Xuande." Lord Guan replied, "When I faced a thousand spear points, ten thousand blades and arrows, and missiles flying from all sides, I charged in all directions as if traveling through uncontested ground. Do you think I fear a pack of rats from the south?"
But his adviser Ma Liang also voiced objections: "Although Lu Su has always behaved in an upright, self-respecting manner, he is unlikely to be altogether aboveboard in so vital a matter. Do not go, General." Lord Guan met this objection too. "Long ago in the time of the Warring States," he began, "Lin Xiangru of Zhao was too weak to tie up a chicken, but at the Mianchi meeting he held the king and ministers of mighty Qin in contempt. Need I, a master of 'one-against-many' battle tactics, feel fear? I cannot go back on my word." "If so, General, you must take precautions," Ma Liang said. "Then let my son, Ping, follow me with ten swift craft holding five hundred skilled marine fighters and wait on the river. Watch for my raised flag, then sail across," said Lord Guan; Guan Ping departed to carry out his order.
The messenger reported Lord Guan's ready acceptance and promise to come the next day. Lu Su asked commander Lü Meng, "What does it mean?" "In case he is bringing armed forces," Meng replied, "Gan Ning and I will each hide a company by the riverbank and at the sound of the bombard fall upon them. Also, have fifty men behind the banquet hall. If he comes without a company, kill him during the feast." Thus they laid their plan.
The next day at midmorning, Lu Su's lookouts on the shore spotted a boat manned by a few sailors and a helmsman. On it, a red flag boldly inscribed "Guan" flapped in the wind. As the boat drew nearer, they saw Lord Guan seated on deck. He wore a blue-green scarf and a green battle gown. Beside him Zhou Cang was holding a long sabre; and eight or nine husky westerners had broadswords at their waists. Perplexed, Lu Su welcomed the guest into the pavilion. After the exchange of courtesies Lu Su guided Lord Guan to his seat and offered him drink. But he seemed unable to look up into Lord Guan's eyes. Lord Guan, meanwhile, chatted away, perfectly relaxed.
Warmed by the wine, Lu Su said, "I have a small complaint to make, my lord. Vouchsafe your attention. Once your esteemed elder brother, the imperial uncle, required me to guarantee personally to Lord Sun Quan that his occupation of Jingzhou would be temporary; he gave his word that the province would be returned after the Riverlands was taken. Now the Riverlands has been taken, but Jingzhou has not been returned. Is this not a betrayal of his word?" "State business," Lord Guan replied, "hardly makes a fit subject of conversation for a banquet." "Lord Sun Quan," said Lu Su, "has but a modest territory in the Southland. He consented to lend Jingzhou only out of his concern to provide for you and your brother in your time of need. Now you have the Riverlands. Jingzhou should be returned. But you refuse to turn over even the three districts designated by the imperial uncle. Doesn't this seem unreasonable?"4
"After Red Cliffs, in the battle at the Black Forest," Lord Guan replied, "General of the Left Liu Bei braved arrow and flying stone to join you against the common enemy. Why should he have toiled for naught, have not even a foot of soil in return? Sir, are you demanding the territory again?" "Such is not the case," said Lu Su. "My lord, when you and the imperial uncle were defeated at Steepslope, you were nearly done for; flight was your only option. Lord Sun did not begrudge the imperial uncle a place to plant his feet and aim for future accomplishment. But the imperial uncle has failed to reciprocate this kindness; he has failed to preserve friendly relations. He has the Riverlands and keeps Jingzhou—a greedy and dishonorable act, a scandal for all to witness.5 If only Your Lord-ship would take cognizance."
Lord Guan responded, "This is entirely my elder brother's business, in which I should not interfere." "It is my understanding," Lu Su went on, "that Your Lordship and the imperial uncle are honor-bound by the peach garden oath to
live and die as one. Indeed, Your Lordship and the Imperial Uncle are as one. How can the responsibility be shifted ?" Before Lord Guan could respond, Zhou Cang shouted harshly from the foot of the dais, "The territory of the empire is for the virtuous to occupy and cannot be reserved for the Southland alone." Lord Guan's expression turned ugly. He rose and snatched the long sabre Zhou Cang was holding. Standing in the center of the yard, eyeing Zhou Cang, he shouted, "This is government business. What have you to say? Get out of here!" Zhou Cang apprehended Lord Guan's real intent and went to the riverbank. He waved the red flag, and Guan Ping raced to the southern shore.
Lord Guan held the sword in his right hand; his left was wrapped around Lu Su. Feigning intoxication, he said, "I have been your guest at dinner. May we drop the subject of Jingzhou while I am drunk, for the sake of our old friendship? I am planning a banquet in Jingzhou for you, when we can continue the discussion." Lu Su felt his affrighted soul part from his body as Lord Guan dragged him to the river's edge. Lü Meng and Gan Ning, set to strike, held off, seeing Lord Guan armed and Lu Su's life in danger. Lord Guan reached his boat and released his hostage. Then, standing in the prow, he bid his host farewell. Numbly, Lu Su watched Lord Guan sail away on a favoring wind. A poet has left this verse in praise of Lord Guan:6
Less than men to him were southern liege men;
Alone, he faced them down right at their feast.
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