Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  The wine had already gone round many times when Yang Feng said, "Let us not lack for music! And let the Man women following the army who are expert at the sword-and-shield dance offer us some entertainment." Meng Huo eagerly agreed. Moments later dozens of women skipped into the tent, their hair hanging loose and their feet bare. The Man host clapped and sang in accompaniment. Yang Feng had two of his sons present cups of wine to Meng Huo and Meng You. As the brothers raised the cups to their lips, Yang Feng gave a terrifying shout and his sons pulled Meng Huo and Meng You down from their seats. King Duosi tried to flee, but Yang Feng seized him. The Man women formed a barrier inside the tent, preventing all approach.

  Meng Huo said to Yang Feng, ' "The fox mourns the hare, ' they say. Things commiserate with their kind. You and I are leaders of our tribes. Between us no wrong has been done. Why would you injure me?" "My brothers, sons, and nephews," Yang Feng replied, "are grateful to His Excellency Zhuge for having spared their lives; they had to find a way to repay him. You have rebelled—why shouldn't we capture and deliver you?"

  After this the Man soldiers all returned to their native regions. Yang Feng brought Meng Huo, Meng You, and Duosi in custody to Kongming's camp. Kongming invited them into his tent, where Yang Feng and his sons prostrated themselves and said, "Thankful for your merciful favor, we have delivered Meng Huo and Meng You." Kongming rewarded them handsomely and then had Meng Huo led in.

  Smiling, Kongming said, "Ready to surrender now?" "This was not because of your ability," Meng Huo protested. "My fellow tribesmen betrayed me. Kill me if you wish— but I won't submit!" Kongming responded, "You fooled me into entering a land without water, and yet the poisons of the four springs have not affected my troops; they remain healthy. What could this be if not the will of Heaven? How long can you fool yourself?" But Meng Huo continued, "My forefathers dwelled in the Silver Pit Hills, secure behind three great rivers and multiple passes. If you can catch me there, I'll surrender with all my heart and for all generations to come." Kongming replied, "If I release you this time to reorganize your forces for the decision between us, and if I catch you and you still resist, I will exterminate your entire clan to the ninth degree."

  Kongming ordered Meng Huo freed, and the Man chieftain left after repeated prostrations. Kongming also released Meng You and King Duosi, giving them wine and food to quiet their anxieties. The two men were too frightened to look at the prime minister squarely. Kongming sent them home on saddled horses. Indeed:

  Campaigns deep in treacherous lands are never easy;

  Brilliant exploits are rarer still!

  Would Meng Huo ever be subdued?

  Read on.

  90

  Giant Beasts Are Deployed in Kongming's Sixth Victory;

  Rattan Shields Are Burned in Meng Huo's Seventh Capture

  After releasing the Man leaders, Kongming honored Yang Feng and his sons with office and rank and richly rewarded the tribal warriors. Yang Feng and his people prostrated themselves, expressed their gratitude, and departed.

  Meng Huo and his companions hurried back to Silver Pit Hollow. On its outskirts ran three rivers—the Lu, the Gannan, and the Xicheng—which converged at a place called Three Rivers. North of the hollow stretched a plain of some three hundred li that yielded a wide variety of crops. Two hundred li due west were salt wells. Two hundred li to the southwest ran the Lu and the Gannan; three hundred li south, Liangdu Hollow with its knolls was encircled by hills that contained silver ore; this explains the name Silver Pit Hills.

  On the hill stood a series of fine buildings, the sanctuary of the Man king. One building housed an ancestral shrine called the Family Spirits. Each season the people there slaughtered an ox and a horse, which they offered in sacrifice in a ceremony known as "divining the spirits." (It was also the custom to sacrifice Riverlanders or strangers from other places. ) A native suffering from an affliction rarely took medicine, praying instead to a shaman master known as the "medicine spirit." Criminal laws did not exist; those who committed offenses were executed immediately. When women grew to maturity, they bathed in a stream where male and female mixed freely and coupled without parental prohibition, a practice called "learning the art." When the rains were evenly distributed, they planted rice. When the harvest did not ripen, they killed snakes for soup and boiled elephant meat for their meals. In each and every corner of the region the principal household was called "chief of the hollow" and the second, "tribal elder." Market day was held on the first of each moon and again on the fifteenth in the town at Three Rivers, where commodities circulated through barter. Such were the customs of the Man.

  Back in his hollow, Meng Huo gathered more than a thousand of his clansmen and adherents and said to them, "For the many times the Riverlanders have put me to shame, I now swear vengeance! Are you with me?" One man responded, "Here is the man to defeat Zhuge Liang!" The assembly turned to the younger brother of Meng Huo's wife, the present leader of the Eight Outer Tribes and chief of Dailai Hollow. Meng Huo was delighted and asked whom he meant to recommend. The chief replied, "His Highness Mulu, chief of Bana Hollow southwest of here, a man thoroughly versed in the occult arts: he can use the elephant as his mount, summon wind and rain, and command the obedience of tiger, leopard, and wolf, scorpion and venomous snake. Thirty thousand superb troops of peerless courage follow him. Your Highness should compose a letter and prepare gifts; I will go myself to seek his help. If he consents, Riverlands soldiers need cause no fear." Meng Huo, delighted, had his brother-in-law carry the letter to King Mulu; he also had King Duosi fortify Three Rivers as a defensive barrier.

  Approaching Three Rivers, Kongming saw that the citadel there fronted water on three sides. He immediately gave Wei Yan and Zhao Zilong joint command of an army for an attack from the land side. As they reached the city wall, waves of arrows greeted them. (The men of the hollow were skilled in the use of longbow and crossbow. A single crossbow launched ten arrows, each tipped with a poison that caused decomposition of the flesh and, ultimately, exposure of the inner organs and death. ) Wei Yan and Zhao Zilong, unable to overcome the enemy, returned to Kongming and described the methods used against them.

  Kongming rode to the front in a small carriage. After surveying the enemy's positions, he returned to camp and ordered the army to retire several li and recamp. The Man soldiers, seeing the Riverlanders pull so far back, began laughing and congratulating one another; thinking that the enemy had lost heart, they slept soundly that night and posted no sentinels.

  Kongming had arranged for the soldiers to remain in their camps after the retreat and not show themselves. For five days he issued no commands. On the fifth, as dusk neared, a slight wind picked up. Kongming issued an order for every soldier, within the space of one watch, to report for roll call after tearing off a piece of his garment; those not complying would face execution. His commanders could not fathom his purpose but complied all the same. At the first watch he ordered every soldier to wrap a ball of earth with the torn cloth or face execution. The troops could not fathom his purpose, but followed the order. Kongming then issued another order for them to report with the wrapped earth to the wall around Three Rivers, offering a reward for the first to arrive. The soldiers wrapped up the soil and raced for the wall. Kongming had them pile it into a graded path and promised top honors to whoever climbed the wall first. The host of one hundred thousand Riverlands soldiers and more than ten thousand surrendered Man piled their clods of earth below the Three Rivers wall.

  Soon the pile became a hill adjoining the wall. At a secret signal the Riverlands troops climbed up. The Man scrambled to loose their shafts, but the Riverlanders yanked them down in great numbers. The other defenders abandoned the wall and fled. King Duosi was killed in the confusion. In separate units the Riverlands commanders hunted down and killed their foe in all directions; Kongming occupied Three Rivers, rewarding the army with the spoils. The defeated Man troops returned to Meng Huo and said, "King Duosi is dead and Three Rivers is lost." Me
ng Huo could not believe it. The Man king was still bewildered when he learned that Riverlands troops had crossed the river and camped in front of his hollow.

  Meng Huo was too agitated to act. Suddenly from behind the screen someone stepped forward and, laughing loudly, said, "A man, and such a fool! I, a woman, will fight them for you!" Meng Huo set his eyes on Lady Zhurong, his wife, who was a descendant of Zhurong1 and had always lived among the nations of the Man. She was skilled in knife throwing and never missed her mark. Meng Huo rose to express his thanks. Well pleased, Lady Zhurong mounted her horse and led several hundred commanders from her clan and its allies, combined with a fresh force of fifty thousand raised from the hollows, out of the gateway of Silver Pit Palace to do battle with the soldiers of the Riverlands.

  That moment a cohort rounded a hill and barred her path: the leader, Zhang Ni. Man troops fanned out in two divisions. Lady Zhurong had five throwing knives stuck into the gear on her back and an eighteen-span spear in her hand; she rode a curly-maned red-hare horse. Zhang Ni marveled quietly. The two dashed at one another and engaged. After several passes Lady Zhurong turned her mount and fled; Zhang Ni pursued hotly. A knife came flying through the air. Zhang Ni tried to deflect it, but it struck his left arm. He rolled off his horse, and screaming Man troops took him captive. Ma Zhong dashed out to rescue him, but Zhang Ni had already been taken and bound hand and foot. Lady Zhurong, lance held high, reined in and stood before him. Ma Zhong made one furious charge, but his horse was tripped, and he too was taken. The two captives were delivered to Meng Huo.

  Meng Huo held a celebration feast at which Lady Zhurong ordered Zhang Ni and Ma Zhong executed. Meng Huo stopped the guards, however, saying, "Zhuge Liang spared me five times. It would not be honorable to kill his commanders. Hold them in our tribe for now; we can deal with them after Zhuge Liang is taken." His wife agreed, and they laughed and drank and made merry.

  The Riverlanders reported their defeat to Kongming, who summoned Ma Dai, Zhao Zilong, and Wei Yan and gave them new assignments to fulfill. The next day Man soldiers reported to their leaders that Zhao Zilong had come to challenge them. Lady Zhurong mounted her horse and met him. After a brief clash Zhao Zilong turned and fled. Lady Zhurong, suspicious of ambush, halted and retired. Next, Wei Yan offered the challenge, and Lady Zhurong galloped forth to meet him. During an intense clash Wei Yan feigned defeat and ran off, but she refused to pursue.

  The following day Zhao Zilong returned to the challenge, which she met again. After only a few exchanges Zhao Zilong halted combat and fled, but the lady, lance in hand, refused again to give chase. Lady Zhurong had already started to recall her troops when Wei Yan came forward. His troops vilified her raucously, and this time Lady Zhurong, spear raised high, raced for her opponent. Wei Yan fled as before. He raced onto a side path in the hills, the lady in hot pursuit. Suddenly he heard a high, clear cry behind him and saw Lady Zhurong on the ground, prone across her saddle. Earlier, Ma Dai had set an ambush here, and the ropes he had strung had now tripped her horse. Ma Dai seized Lady Zhurong and took her as his prisoner back to the main camp. Man troops rode to her rescue, but Zhao Zilong dispersed them with fierce fighting.

  Sitting solemnly in his tent where Ma Dai had brought Lady Zhurong before him, Kongming swiftly ordered the lady's bonds removed and sent her to another tent to drink some wine and compose herself. He also sent a man to Meng Huo, offering to exchange Lady Zhurong for the two commanders Zhang Ni and Ma Zhong. Meng Huo agreed to this proposal and sent the two commanders back to Kongming, who in turn sent Lady Zhurong back to her people. Meng Huo received her with both joy and anger in his heart.

  Suddenly the leader of Bana Hollow was announced. Meng Huo received him outside his cove. The visitor rode a white elephant, and his garb was fringed with gold and pearls; large swords hung at his side. His retinue included a team of men who cared for his menagerie of tigers and panthers, jackals and wolves. The crowd entered Meng Huo's hollow.

  Meng Huo prostrated himself and voiced his grief; then he recounted the previous events. King Mulu promised to assist him in exacting revenge, and Meng Huo showed his satisfaction by holding a banquet in Mulu's honor. The next day King Mulu led his own warriors and wild animals out to battle. Zhao Zilong and Wei Yan deployed their forces into fighting position. Riding side by side, they came before their line to view the enemy's strange banners and weapons. Few of the warriors wore armor; most were naked. Their faces were crude and ugly. Each carried four daggers. They sounded neither drum nor horn, signaling their troops by striking gongs. King Mulu had two swords hanging at his waist and a corolla-shaped bell in his hand. Surrounded by giant banners, he rode a white elephant.

  "In all our days in the field," Zhao Zilong said to Wei Yan, "have we ever seen such a sight?" While the two watched in amazement, King Mulu uttered strange incantations and shook the bell. Suddenly fierce winds began to blow, driving sand and pebbles like hard rain, and a braying sound was heard: tigers and panthers, jackals and wolves, venomous reptiles and ferocious beasts came riding on the winds, charging, with fangs bared and claws flexed. The Riverlands troops fell back; the Man pursued them all the way to the boundary of Three Rivers, killing many before withdrawing. Zhao Zilong and Wei Yan regathered their men and returned to Kongming's tent to confess their failure and recount the circumstances.

  Kongming laughed and said, "It's not your fault. Even before I left my secluded thatched cottage, I knew about Man techniques for using wild animals in combat. Back in the Riverlands I devised some ways for foiling them. With the army I brought twenty wagons, which I had sealed and put away. Now is the time to put half of them to use; the other half we will save for another time." Kongming ordered his attendants to wheel out the ten wagons with red-painted containers and leave the ten black ones behind. Everyone was puzzled. Kongming broke open the containers, which held enormous carved animals of colored wood with fur of multicolored yarn and teeth and claws of steel. Each animal was big enough to carry ten men. Kongming picked one thousand strong warriors and assigned them one hundred animals; these he had packed with incendiary materials and then concealed among the troops.

  The next day Kongming advanced in force and deployed at the entrance to the hollow. Man scouts reported the enemy's movements to the kings. King Mulu, declaring himself invincible, went forth with Meng Huo to fight. Kongming, wearing his headband and Taoist robes, sat erect in his carriage, holding a feathered fan. Pointing at him, Meng Huo said to Mulu, "There's Zhuge Liang. If we catch him, our success is assured." King Mulu pronounced a curse and shook his bell. Shortly fierce winds sprang up and the wild beasts burst into view. But Kongming waved his fan, causing the wind to blow back toward the Man; from the Riverlands side the imitation monsters came forth.

  The genuine animals of the Man region watched the opposing weird beasts belching fire and breathing black smoke, shaking their bronze clangers as they snarled and clawed. Daunted, the savage creatures of the Man turned and charged back to the hollow, trampling numerous men in their path. At this point Kongming signaled a general advance. Drum and horn sounded in unison as the Riverlanders pursued and killed countless Man. King Mulu fell in the confusion of battle. Inside their cove Meng Huo's clan and adherents abandoned their mansions and fled over the hills. Kongming's army occupied Silver Pit Hollow.

  The next day as Kongming was preparing to divide his forces to find and capture Meng Huo, a messenger reported, "The younger brother of Meng Huo's wife, the chief of Dai-lai Hollow, urged Meng Huo to submit to you. Meng Huo refused, so the Dailai chief has seized Meng Huo, Lady Zhurong, and their families and will deliver them to Your Excellency." Kongming immediately summoned Zhang Ni and Ma Zhong and gave them instructions. After the two commanders had put two thousand able-bodied troops behind the passageways to Kongming's quarters, Kongming told the gate guards to admit Meng Huo's brother-in-law and his party. The chief of the Dailai, attended by guards with hidden weapons, delivered Meng Huo and several hundred others and prostrated h
imself before Kongming. "Seize them!" Kongming shouted.

  From both sides husky soldiers rushed out—two on one—and tied up the prisoners. Laughing, Kongming said, "Did you expect to fool me with that little trick? Twice before, the people of your own hollow brought you in, but I did you no harm. You don't really think I would believe this false surrender, do you, and let you kill me right here in your own hollow?" Kongming ordered a search and found a sharp knife on each. Kongming asked Meng Huo, "You once promised that if I caught you in your own home, you would render sincere submission—what about now?" But Meng Huo replied, "This is a case of delivering ourselves to our own fate. Your skill played no part. My heart remains unsubdued." "Still, after six times?" Kongming said. "When will you submit?" "The seventh time," Meng Huo answered, "I will render wholehearted allegiance and swear never to rebel!" "With your sanctuary destroyed, there is no need to worry!" Kongming said and ordered the captives freed. "Next time," he added, "if you try to wriggle out of it, no further grace will be shown." Humiliated, Meng Huo and his followers scurried off.

  King Meng Huo happened upon a mass of more than one thousand Man troops fleeing the Riverlanders; most of them were injured. When he had restored order among them, his spirits revived somewhat. He said to his brother-in-law, "The Riverlanders hold my cove. Where can we find refuge?" The chief of the Dailai answered, "There is a kingdom that can defeat the Riverlands." "Where?" asked Meng Huo. "To the southeast, seven hundred li from here," the chief responded. "The Black Lance kingdom. Their chief, Wu-tugu, is some twelve spans tall, eats no grain, and survives on live snakes and vicious animals. His body is covered with scales no arrow or blade can pierce. The men in his command have rattan armor made from vines that grow in the ravines and wind around their rocky walls. Natives pick the vines, soak them in oil for half a year, then dry them in the sun. After being thoroughly dried, they are returned to the oil. The vines are dried and soaked this way ten times before being made into armor. The cured rattan keeps the body afloat and dry, as well as safe from arrow and blade; that's why they're called 'rattan-armored soldiers. ' Your Highness should plead with their chief, for his help will make the capture of Zhuge Liang as sure as a 'sharp knife splits bamboo. '"