No sooner had Meng Huo turned into a valley than he saw a sizable wood ahead and several score of soldiers guiding a small carriage bearing Kongming, seated. Laughing aloud, Kongming said, "King of the Man! Heaven has sent you to your defeat! But how long you have kept me waiting!" Meng Huo turned furiously to those around him and cried, "Such vicious tricks have humiliated me thrice. Now I have the good fortune to meet up with him here. Charge! And hack man and carriage into a thousand pieces!" Several Man horsemen bolted forward. Meng Huo took the lead, shouting mightily to hearten them. But as they reached the ground before the woods, they found themselves flying head over heels into a pit. Wei Yan then emerged at the head of several hundred men, fished them out one at a time, and tied them up. By the time he was done, Kongming was already back in camp.
Kongming offered amnesty to the Man soldiers as well as to the tribal chieftains and braves (though the majority had gone back to their home areas), and all who survived tendered their submission. Kongming provided meat and drink, cheered them with friendly words, and sent them home. The Man soldiers roared in appreciation and departed.
Shortly after, Zhang Yi brought in Meng You. Kongming admonished him: "You must show your misguided elder brother the right thing to do. After his fourth capture what self-respect can he have?" Meng You, flushing with shame, flung himself to the ground and pleaded for mercy. "This is not the day for me to kill you," Kongming continued. "I shall spare your life. But I insist that you reason with your brother." He had Meng You untied and released. Tearfully prostrating himself, Meng You departed.
* * *
* * *
When Wei Yan presently led in Meng Huo, Kongming was furious. "Once again I have caught you," he cried. "Have you anything to say for yourself?" "Your tricky scheme took me in," Meng Huo replied. "I will haunt you from my grave!" Kongming commanded his guards to remove Meng Huo and behead him. Meng Huo's expression held no hint of fear. Boldly he flung back the words: "Dare to free me again and I will avenge all four disgraces at once." Kongming laughed and had his attendants untie him. He offered wine to calm the prisoner and gave him a seat in the tent. Kongming said, "This is the fourth time I have shown you civility. What makes you hold out?" Meng Huo answered, "I may be a man beyond the pale, but I would never resort to the knavish tricks that you use. Why should I consent?" "Will you war with us again if I free you now?" Kongming asked. "Your Excellency," he responded, "the next time you take me, I shall surrender in full sincerity and render as military tribute all the treasures of my hollows to confirm my vow to foreswear all sedition."
Kongming smiled and sent Meng Huo, gladly bowing and giving thanks, on his way. The Man leader then gathered the warriors of the hollows, several thousand of them, and led the throng south in a long procession. Soon after, a contingent of soldiers rode up out of the dust, at their head Meng You, who had reorganized his battle-worn men to avenge Meng Huo. The reunited brothers muffled their heads and cried as they described their experiences. Meng You said, "We have suffered one defeat after another, and they have had many victories. How can we resist? What else can we do but take to the hills and avoid combat until the heat proves too much for them and they withdraw on their own?" "Where can we hide?" Meng Huo asked. "Bald Dragon Hollow, southwest of here," Meng You replied. "The leader, King Duosi, is my close friend and should take us in."
Meng Huo sent his brother ahead to Duosi. The chief then came out with an entourage of soldiers to welcome Meng Huo. Meng Huo entered the hollow and after the formalities described what had happened. "Set your mind at ease," Duosi said. "If the Riverlanders come, not one will go back—not a man, not a horse! They will die here, together with Zhuge Liang!" Delighted, Meng Huo listened to Duosi's plan.
"This hollow has only two roads," Duosi said. "To the northeast, the one Your Highness came by: the land lies flat; the soil is solid, and the water sweet. It is a road easily traveled by man or horse. But if we bar the way with timber and rocks, not even a million troops will be able to work their way through. To the northwest is another route, a narrow passage through arduous hills and nasty ridges. Poisonous snakes and scorpions abound on the paths; as evening draws on, a miasma rises and doesn't clear until late morning or past noon. Indeed, the only times suitable for travel on that route are the six afternoon hours. The water is not potable and the going is rough. Moreover, there are four poisoned springs along the route. The first, the Spring of the Mute, causes loss of speech; whoever drinks from it (though the water be sweet) will perish in ten days' time. The second, the Spring of Death, is hot, and bathing in it leads to putrefaction of the flesh; death follows after the bones show through. The third, the Black Spring, has somewhat clear water, but a few drops can turn your hands and feet black, and death will follow. The fourth is the Spring of Languor, whose icy water takes away the drinker's warm breath while his body turns limp as cloth and he perishes. Neither birds not insects live there. During the Han, the General Who Tames the Deeps passed through; after him, no one.1 Now we are going to blockade the northeastern route to ensure Your Majesty's safe sojourn in our humble hollow. Finding the east blocked, the Riverlands troops will come around to the western route. There's no water on the way, so they will be sure to drink at the four springs. Not one in a million will survive. Why waste military force?"
Meng Huo was delighted and, putting his hand to his brow, said, "At last I have found refuge!" Pointing to the north, he continued, "Zhuge Liang's ingenious tricks are not going to work here! The waters of the four springs will avenge the losses I have suffered!" Day after day Meng Huo, Meng You, and King Duosi feasted and celebrated together.
Kongming watched for several days, but Meng Huo's troops did not emerge. He therefore ordered the main army to advance south of the West Er River. It was midsummer, the sixth month, and the weather hot as fire. A later poet sang of the cruel clime:
A scorching heat to turn the marshes dry,
A flaming sun that rules the empty sky—
Who could find in any other land
A zone of summer heat than this more damned?2
Another poem says:
The fire god unleashes his torrid power;
Upon the sky no shade of cloud dares show.
In scalding mists the lonely heron pants;
In steamy seas the giant tortoise frets.
Who would for this forsake companionship by cooling streams
Or idle walks through bamboo woods?
What has brought me to this far frontier,
On the march again, encased in gear?
Kongming's host was on the move when a scout reported: "Meng Huo has retreated inside Bald Dragon Hollow. He has sealed the approaches; soldiers within guard it. The hills are too arduous, the ridges too steep for us to advance." Kongming questioned Lu Kai, who said, "I've heard of a way into the area, but I don't know the exact route." Jiang Wan added, "After being captured four times, Meng Huo will not have the courage to show himself. And what of the heat? Our men and horses are fainting. We can gain nothing by attacking—better to withdraw and go home." To this Kongming replied, "That's what Meng Huo expects of us: we retreat, they pursue. No. We have come too far to turn back!" He commanded Wang Ping to take a few hundred soldiers of the van, with surrendered Man soldiers as guides, and go in search of the northwestern route into Meng Huo's lair.
At the first spring the men and horses, plagued by thirst, fought to get at the water. Wang Ping discovered the route and informed Kongming. But by the time they reached the main camp, the men had fallen mute and could communicate only by pointing to their mouths.
The astonished Kongming, realizing his men had been poisoned, went by carriage to examine the site: several score of followers attended him. He found a clear pool so deep, the bottom was not visible. The water was piercing cold, and no one dared taste it. Kongming left his carriage, climbed to a high point, and scanned the surrounding peaks. Not a bird chirped. He was perplexed. On a distant ridge he saw an ancient shrine. Using vines and cr
eepers, Kongming clambered up and found a stone chamber containing a statue of a general and a stone tablet. The shrine was dedicated to Ma Yuan, General Who Tames the Deeps. Local people had erected it in his memory after he pacified the Man of the region. Kongming prostrated himself twice in front of the image and said, "I am the guardian of the late Emperor's heir, by whose mandate I have come to pacify these Man. After that I shall invade Wei and devour Wu in order to make the house of Han secure again. My soldiers, ignorant of this land, were struck dumb after drinking at a poisoned spring. I pray you, revered spirit, remember the benign justice our court has always shown and by your divine presence keep our armies safe."3
His prayer finished, Kongming went out to find a native of the place. He spied a strange-looking old man coming toward him from the opposite hill, walking with the aid of a cane. Kongming invited the visitor into the shrine and after the formalities, when they had seated themselves on a stone ledge, asked him, "Your esteemed surname, master?" The old man replied, "Fortunate am I today to pay my respects to the prime minister of the great kingdom of Shu, a man of lasting fame. The people of the southern regions feel deep gratitude for your mercy in sparing their lives." Kongming asked about the spring. The old man answered, "Your soldiers drank from the Spring of the Mute, which causes loss of speech and, a few days later, death. There are three more springs besides this. To the southeast, one with icy water that drives the warm breath from your throat and causes death after enfeebling the body; it's called the Spring of Languor. Due south is another, the Black Spring. One touch of the water and you die after your hands and feet turn black. The spring to the southwest is like boiling water. If you bathe in it, your skin and flesh peel off; death follows swiftly. It's the Spring of Death. There is no cure for the lethal essences of the four springs in our humble regions. You must, moreover, pass only in the afternoon hours to avoid the fetid atmosphere of the springs. At all other times the miasma is thick, and contact with it is fatal."
Kongming said, "The Man can never be conquered, then. Nor will we ever incorporate Wu and Wei in a restored Han dynasty, and my responsibility to my late emperor will never be fulfilled. Let me die rather than fail my cause!" "Do not despair, Your Excellency," the old man replied. "I can show you a place that will solve the problem." "I beg to receive your wisdom," Kongming said. "Several li due west of here," the old man began, "there is a valley. Twenty li inside the valley you will find the Stream of Eternal Peace. On the hilltop a man lives in seclusion, the Hermit of Eternal Peace. He has stayed by the stream for decades. Behind his thatched dwelling is the Spring of Peace and joy, which counteracts the poisons of the other springs. A bath in its waters cures skin eruptions and miasma sickness. In addition, in the front of his hermitage you will find an herb called called 'leek-leaved rue. ' Holding it in the mouth protects against the miasma. Your Excellency should go to seek it." Bowing in appreciation, Kongming said, "I remain forever grateful for receiving this life-saving kindness. May I know your honored surname?" The old man entered the temple and said, "I am the mountain spirit here, commanded by the General Who Tames the Deeps to give you guidance." Then at the old man's shout, the wall at the rear of the temple opened and he disappeared. The astonished Kongming bowed again to the temple god, made his way back to his carriage, and returned to camp.
The next day Kongming prepared incense and other ritual items and brought Wang Ping and his afflicted soldiers to the place the mountain spirit had indicated. Entering the valley by a small road, they had advanced about twenty li when they saw giant pines and cypresses, luxuriant bamboo, and rare blossoms enclosing a farm. A fine fragrance filled the air in the vicinity of a thatched cottage. Delighted, Kongming knocked on the front door, and a lad appeared. Before Kongming could introduce himself, a man followed promptly after the boy. He had a bamboo comb and straw slippers, a white robe girt with black, dark green eyes and yellowing hair. "Could my guest be the prime minister of the Han?" he asked. "How did you know, honored master?" Kongming replied, smiling. "Some time ago we heard that Your Excellency's grand army, imperial plumes flying, had marched south. It was widely known," the hermit said as he invited Kongming into his dwelling.
After the formalities they took seats as host and guest. Kongming declared: "The late August Emperor Zhao Lie placed his heir apparent in my hands. Now, on the Second Emperor's authority I have marched my host here to subdue the land of the Man and win their adherence to the imperial way. Alas, Meng Huo has vanished into the depths of the coves and hollows and my troops have been poisoned at the Spring of the Mute. But last night I was honored by a visit from the living spirit of the General Who Tames the Deeps, and he told me that you, honored sir, possessed a medicinal spring. I humbly appeal for permission to use the holy water to save the lives of my men." "I am a useless old man of the mountain wilds, embarrassed to have troubled Your Excellency to visit. The stream you mention is right behind my hut," the recluse responded, and he invited Kongming to bring his soldiers to drink.
The young lad attending the hermit conducted Wang Ping and the troops who had lost their power of speech to the side of the stream. After drinking, they vomited some foul phlegm and recovered their voices. Next, the lad took the troops to bathe in the Stream of Eternal Peace, while in his dwelling the hermit served Kongming cedar tea and cypress fruits. The hermit said to him, "The hollows of the Man around here abound with scorpions and venomous snakes. And when the willow flowers drift into the streams and springs, they become unfit to drink from. You have to dig a well to find potable water." Kongming then requested the leek-leaved rue. The hermit told the soldiers to pick all they wanted, saying, "Keep a leaf in your mouth and the miasma will not affect you."
Kongming respectfully asked again who the hermit was. Smiling, he said, "Meng Huo's elder brother, Meng Jie." Kongming gasped in amazement. The hermit continued, "Your Excellency, contain your astonishment while I explain. We are three brothers of the same parents. I am the eldest; Meng Huo is next; the youngest is Meng You. Our parents are dead. My two brothers are wedded to their evil ways and despite my earnest appeals will not render homage to the imperial civilization. That is why I have changed my name and retired into seclusion. My shameless brothers have rebelled and burdened Your Excellency with the necessity of campaigning in these wilds, for which I consider myself deserving of ten thousand deaths. I come before Your Excellency now to answer for the offense."
Kongming sighed and said, "After this I can believe the ancient legend by which the robber Zhi and the worthy Liu Xiahui were brothers; I have seen it myself today! If I petitioned the Son of Heaven to make you a king, would you accept?" Meng Jie answered, "Disdain for fame drove me here; what are wealth or position to me?" Kongming offered him gold and silk, but Meng Jie steadfastly declined the gifts. Kongming, profoundly moved, bowed low, said good-bye, and went back to his camp. In the words of a poet of later times,
In that remotest vale the recluse dwelt,
When Kongming worked the downfall of the Man.4
Still unclaimed, those stately trees of yore,
Where ancient hills by thawless mists stand barred.
Kongming returned to his main camp and had his men dig wells. At more than twenty feet, they found nothing. Ten other digs had the same result. The troops grew restive. At midnight Kongming burned incense and addressed Heaven: "Your servant Liang, though wanting in talent, has received the blessing of the mighty Han and its mandate to pacify the Man. Now midway in our course, man and horse are parched with thirst. If Heaven above means to sustain the cause of Han, then grant us one sweet spring! But if the time of Han has indeed expired, your servant begs for death here and now." His night incantation was done. At dawn they found the wells brimming. A poet of later times left these lines about the incident:
In the name of Han he marched against the Man;
The mind that dwells on truth may touch the gods.
Geng Gong bowed to a well, and forth it flowed;5
For Zhuge's constant heart
these waters rose.
The Riverlands troops refreshed themselves and proceeded safely along the trails leading directly into Bald Dragon Hollow; they camped before it.
Man scouts informed Meng Huo: "The Riverlands troops resist the miasma and suffer no thirst. The springs have lost their power!" King Duosi, incredulous, went with Meng Huo to observe the invaders from a high point. Lo, unharmed, they were providing for their horses and their cooking with fresh water from vats and pole baskets. Duosi's hair stood on end as he watched. Turning to Meng Huo, he said, "Those troops are supernatural!" Meng Huo responded, "My brother Meng You and I shall fight to the end. Better to die nobly on the field than surrender to the foe!" Duosi said, "If Your Highness is defeated, my family and I are done for. We must slaughter oxen and horses and feast the braves of our tribes for a victorious drive on their camp. No danger must deter us!"
And so the Man army feasted grandly and then prepared to march. Fresh support came from Yang Feng, chief of twenty-one tribes from Silver Smelting Hollow, who arrived from the west at the head of a line of thirty thousand. Meng Huo was delighted and said, "With our neighbor's help, victory is assured." Meng Huo and King Duosi left the hollow to meet Yang Feng.
Yang Feng led in his troops and said, "I have thirty thousand excellent soldiers, all iron-armored and capable of traversing hill and ridge or holding back a million Riverlands men! My five sons, each a master of the martial arts, desire to help Your Highness." Yang Feng summoned them to pay their respects to the two kings. Their brawny, tigerlike physiques radiated confidence and power. Delighted, Meng Huo set forth a banquet for Yang Feng and his sons.
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