Delighted, Meng Huo headed for the Black Lance kingdom to meet Wutugu. He found the tribe had no roofed dwellings, as the members lived in caves in the earth. Meng Huo entered the hollow, prostrated himself, and related his bitter experiences. The chief said, "I will muster the men of my tribe and avenge you." Meng Huo eagerly prostrated himself again in gratitude. Thereupon Wutugu summoned Tu An and Xi Ni, two militia captains, and they mustered thirty thousand warriors in rattan armor for the campaign. Marching northeast, they reached the Peach Blossom, a river with peach trees lining its banks. Whenever the leaves dropped into the water, it became lethal to people of other kingdoms but a wondrous tonic to the people of the Black Lance. Wutugu's force camped at a crossing point of the Peach Blossom River to await the Riverlands army.
Certain Man natives whom Kongming had sent to gather information reported back: "In answer to Meng Huo's plea, the chief of the Black Lance kingdom has led thirty thousand rattan-armored troops into position at the crossing of the Peach Blossom. At the same time Meng Huo is recruiting troops from all the Man regions to join their war of resistance." At this news Kongming moved in force to the river. From the opposite shore he surveyed the Man warriors, who looked so repulsive that they hardly seemed human. A native informed him that peach leaves had fallen and made the water unsafe that day. Kongming retired five li and camped, leaving Wei Yan in command.
The next day the king of the Black Lances led a band of rattan-armored men across the river, gongs and drums resounding. Wei Yan went forth to meet them. The Man warriors swarmed, covering the terrain. The Riverlanders shot their crossbow bolts; but the rattan was impenetrable, and the arrows dropped harmlessly. Neither the strokes of their blades nor the thrusts of their spears could break through it. The Man wielded their sharp knives and steel forks against the Riverlanders, who, unable to defend themselves, eventually withdrew. The Man returned to camp without giving chase. Wei Yan turned back and rushed to the riverside, where he watched in amazement as the enemy crossed over in full armor: those taken by fatigue simply removed their armor and used it to float across.
Wei Yan raced back to the main camp and gave Kongming a detailed report. Kongming invited Lü Kai and some natives to his tent and asked them about the Black Lances and the Peach Blossom. "Long ago," Lü Kai explained, "I heard of a Black Lance kingdom among the southern Man, one bereft of human morality. Their rattan armor is almost impossible to pierce. Then there is the water poisoned by peach leaves: the natives are inured to it, but outsiders will die drinking it. That's what the southern region is like; the most complete victory would be of little use. It would be best to bring the army home." Kongming smiled and said, "After the trouble it took to get here, we can't simply leave. I have another plan to pacify the Man. Tomorrow." He ordered Zhao Zilong to guard the main camp with Wei Yan and to avoid going out.
The next day, with a native guide, Kongming took his carriage to a secluded spot on a hill north of the Peach Blossom River to survey the lay of the land. Where the road was too arduous for the carriage to pass, Kongming descended and proceeded on foot. He came to a hill where he saw a serpentine ravine with a wide road down its center and sheer, steep walls on which no tree or bush grew. "What is this valley called?" Kongming asked. "Winding Serpent Valley," the guide answered. "From the far side the road leads to Three Rivers. Before it is the region known as Talang Barrens." "Then Heaven grants us success here!" Kongming said with satisfaction and went back to the road he had taken.
Back at camp, Kongming summoned Ma Dai, whom he charged as follows: "I am going to give you the ten carriages with the black containers; you will need a thousand bamboo poles. Inside the containers you will find certain essential items. Have your own troops hold either end of Winding Serpent Valley and act according to our plan. You have half a month to prepare everything. At the prearranged time you are to proceed as instructed. Should anyone learn of this plan, the full weight of martial law will be imposed." Ma Dai received his instructions and left.
Next, Kongming summoned Zhao Zilong and charged him: "Go to the rear of Winding Serpent Valley; hold the main road into Three Rivers as instructed. Have everything you need ready by the appointed day." Zhao Zilong received his orders and left. Next, Wei Yan was called and charged: "Take your own troops and camp by the Peach Blossom River crossing. If Man troops come over to oppose you, abandon camp and race toward the white flag. Within half a month expect to lose fifteen battles and abandon as many as seven sites—but do not come to me until after the fifteenth defeat." With grave reservations, Wei Yan accepted his assignment and left in low spirits. Next, Kongming summoned Zhang Yi to take another contingent to a designated place and build a camp with barricades. He also ordered Zhang Ni and Ma Zhong to take charge of some one thousand surrendered Man for a special purpose. Everyone went to carry out his part of the plan.
Meng Huo said to the chief of the Black Lances, "Of Zhuge Liang's many tricks, ambush is his favorite. For future battles have all forces divide themselves into three units. And be most cautious about entering densely wooded valleys." Wutugu replied, "Your Highness speaks wisely. I know well the cunning of those from the middle kingdoms. From now on we will do what you say: I will move ahead and hunt them down; you will direct from behind." Thus the two agreed.
When the Man kings learned that the Riverlanders had fortified the north bank, Wutugu sent two captains with rattan-armored troops to cross the river and engage the enemy. After a brief battle Wei Yan fled. Fearing ambush, the Man soldiers returned south. The next day Wei Yan set up another camp. The Man scouts discovered it, and more of them swarmed across to attack. Wei Yan met them in the field but again fled after a short engagement. The Man pursued more than ten li. Finding no enemy activity in the area, they occupied the Riverlands camp.
The next day the two Man captains led Wutugu to the captured camp and told him how the battle had gone. Wutugu pursued the Riverlanders with a large force until Wei Yan's retreating troops threw down their armor and spears and fled. Lo, a white flag flew ahead of them. Wei Yan led his men toward it; there they found a camp already pitched and settled into it. But as Wutugu's pursuing horde closed in, Wei Yan was forced to flee again, thus yielding the camp to the Man. The next day the Man resumed pursuit. The Riverlanders turned and fought, but defeated again in a brief clash, they fled in the direction of another white flag. On reaching it, they found a prepared site and camped down. The next day the Man arrived, and Wei Yan again fled after a halfhearted battle. The Man occupied the abandoned camp.
Wei Yan alternately fought and fled until he had quit fifteen engagements and abandoned seven bases. Ruthlessly the Man advanced to hunt him down, Wutugu out in front, striking at the enemy. Coming to a thick wood, he halted and sent scouts to reconnoitre. The scouts found insignia-bearing flags hanging slack in the depth of the shade. Wutugu said to Meng Huo, "just as Your Highness predicted." Meng Huo smiled and replied, "So this is Zhuge Liang's game. Now that Your Highness has beat him in fifteen battles and seized seven of his camps, the Riverlanders flee on hearing of your approach. Zhuge Liang has no more tricks to play! With this next advance our cause carries!" Elated, Wutugu put all thought of danger out of his mind.
On the sixteenth day Wei Yan led his battle-worn men forth to oppose the rattan-armored Man. Riding an elephant, Wutugu took the lead. He wore a wolf-beard cap decorated with the sun and the moon. Gold and pearls laced his garment, through which his torso's hard-scaled skin showed. A subtle fire darted from his eyes. Pointing to Wei Yan, he pronounced his malediction. Wei Yan wheeled round and fled again. The Man gave chase in full force. Wei Yan maneuvered around into Winding Serpent Valley as he made for the white flag. Wutugu closed in for the kill; seeing the hills bare, he had assumed he was safe from ambush.
When he reached the middle of the valley, Wutugu saw several dozen wagons with black-painted containers blocking the road. A soldier reported, "This is the Riverlands grain transport route. Your Highness's arrival has caused them to flee and leav
e their carts." Wutugu triumphantly urged his warriors to press the chase to the other end of the valley. There they found no Riverlands troops; but great logs and volleys of rock crashed down, sealing the exit. Wutugu ordered his men to open the road. He had resumed his advance, when carts of all sizes loaded with burning wood loomed out of nowhere! Wutugu ordered immediate retreat. But from his rear ranks shouts went up: "The exit is blocked by dry tinder, and the carts, filled with powder, are in flames!" Wutugu remained calm because the site was too bare to conceal an ambush. He ordered his men to escape however they could. Then, lo, from both sides of the valley torches were hurled down, hitting fuses on the ground that ignited iron missiles. The whole valley began dancing wildly with fiery light, and the rattan armor caught fire when touched by the flames. Wutugu and his thirty thousand men perished in Winding Serpent Valley, huddled together in the inferno.
From a hilltop Kongming looked down upon the incinerated men strewn over the valley. Most of them had had their heads and faces pulverized by the falling missiles. An unbearable stench rose from their corpses. Kongming wept and sighed at the carnage. "Whatever service to the shrines of Han this represents, my life-span will be shortened for it," he said. His words deeply touched every officer and man.
In camp Meng Huo waited for his troops. Suddenly a thousand or more arrived and prostrated themselves before him. Smiling broadly, they said, "The army of the Black Lances has trapped the Riverlanders in Winding Serpent Valley. A major battle is under way. They need reinforcement, Your Highness. All of us are members of your hollow who surrendered against our will to the Riverlands, and we have come to help now that Your Highness is here." Meng Huo was delighted. With his clan, his adherents, and other outlanders he set out at once, using the returned Man as guides.
In Winding Serpent Valley a scene of fiery destruction and the stench of slaughter greeted Meng Huo, and he knew he had been trapped. He tried to pull back, but Zhang Ni and Ma Zhong fell upon him to the left and right. As he began to defend himself, a war cry went up from his own ranks, and the bulk of his men now disclosed themselves to be Riverlands troops! They seized Meng Huo's clansmen and adherents as well as their regional allies and made them prisoners. Meng Huo himself managed to break out of the trap and raced toward the mountain paths.
While fleeing, he noticed a cluster of men with a small wagon emerging from a depression in the hills. Inside sat a man with bound hair, holding a feathered fan and garbed like a priest of the Tao. Kongming shouted, "Meng Huo, you rebel! How about it now?" Meng Huo turned swiftly to flee, but a commander darted out from the side and blocked his way. It was Ma Dai. Meng Huo, caught unprepared, was swiftly taken. By this time Wang Ping and Zhang Yi had already rushed the Man camp and captured Lady Zhurong and all the members of Meng Huo's family.
On reaching camp, Kongming took his place in the main tent. "This trick," Kongming told his commanders, " I used only because I had to; I shall lose much merit in the life to come for it. I guessed the enemy would be looking for an ambush in the woods, so I set up decoy banners there to confuse them. There were never any troops. Next, I had Wei Yan lose a series of battles to strengthen their confidence. I observed that Winding Serpent Valley had only one road between two sheer cliffs bare of vegetation, all sandy soil below. Accordingly, I ordered Ma Dai to deploy the black wagons in the valley—they had been loaded earlier with fire launchers called 'earth thunder' each containing nine missiles. The mines were buried thirty paces apart and connected by fuses—bamboo tubes packed with powder. On firing, the hills crumbled and the rocks split.
"Next, I had Zhao Zilong prepare hay wagons and deploy them at the valley exit. On the slopes we had huge logs and rocks. After Wei Yan had lured Wutugu and his rattan-armored troops into the valley and got free, we cut off the road and burned out the enemy. They say, 'What works with water doesn't work with fire': the rattan armor may be impervious to blade or arrow, but any article processed with oil is bound to be flammable. The Man warriors were so stubborn, how else could they have been defeated? But to have exterminated the Black Lances so completely is a crime that weighs heavily on me." The commanders bowed low before him and said, "Your Excellency's marvelous ingenuity is more than even the gods and spirits could fathom!"
Kongming ordered Meng Huo brought before him. Meng Huo kneeled down, and Kongming had his bonds removed. To ease his fears, he had food and drink provided to the Man king in a separate tent. Finally, Kongming gave certain instructions to the commissary officer.
Meng Huo and Lady Zhurong, Meng You and the chief of Dailai Hollow, together with their clansmen and adherents, refreshed themselves. Suddenly an officer entered the tent and said to Meng Huo, "His Excellency was too embarrassed to see you, my lord, and has ordered me to release you. Go home and rally your forces for another trial of strength. Quickly, my lord." But Meng Huo, tears falling, replied, "Seven times captured, seven times freed! Such a thing has never happened!2 Though I stand beyond the range of the imperial grace, I am not utterly ignorant of ritual, of what propriety and honor require. No, I am not so shameless!"
Having thus spoken, Meng Huo, his brother, his wife, and his other clansmen crawled to Kongming's tent. The king kneeled and exposed the upper half of his body, betokening his readiness to receive punishment. "Your Excellency's divine prestige ensures that the south will not rebel again," Meng Huo declared. "Then you submit?" Kongming responded. Weeping with gratitude, Meng Huo said, "For generations to come, our children and theirs after them will gratefully acknowledge your all-protecting, all-sustaining love, deep as Heaven, vast as earth. How can I not submit!" Kongming invited Meng Huo into his tent, where he held a feast confirming the king as chief of the hollows in perpetuity, and he relinquished to him all territories seized by the Riverlands troops. Meng Huo and his people, as well as the warriors of other Man nations, acclaimed his generosity, leaping and vaulting in unbounded excitement. A poet of later times left these lines in praise of Kongming:
The feather fan, Taoist cap, and dark green canopy—
Captured seven times, the Man king did his will—
Those streams and hollows honor Kongming still,
Raising to his virtue's force a hall upon a hill.
Senior Counselor Fei Yi entered and protested: "Your Excellency's campaign deep into the wilds has subjugated the Man region, and their king has tendered his allegiance. Is it not now appropriate to establish districts and officials so that we can rule together with Meng Huo?" "That poses three problems," Kongming replied. "First, if outsiders stay behind, troops must stay with them. But how are we to feed those troops? Second, the defeated Man have suffered grievously, losing fathers and brothers. To leave outsiders here without troops is bound to lead to trouble. And third, the Man nations have always been so politically unstable—the result of jealousies and suspicion—that they will never trust outsiders. If we leave no one, however, and ship no grain, we will find ourselves at peace with them for want of any cause of trouble." These arguments persuaded the commanders. In gratitude for Kongming's benevolence, the Man people set up a shrine at which offerings were made every season; the prime minister became known among them as "the kindly father." Each of the nations rendered tribute of pearls and precious metals, cinnabar, lacquer, medicinal herbs, water buffalo, and war-horses for military use. And the Man vowed not to rebel. Thus, the south was finally pacified.
After Kongming had feasted his army, the homeward march began. Wei Yan, in the vanguard, had reached the River Lu when sudden storm clouds bore down on him. Violent gusts sprang up on the water; and dust and stones swept through the army, preventing its advance. Wei Yan retreated and reported to Kongming, who turned to Meng Huo for advice. Indeed:
The moment the Man were tamed,
Angry spirits roiled the river.
What would Meng Huo say to Kongming?
Read on.
91
The Prime Minister Sacrifices to River Ghosts Before Leading the Army Home;
The Lord of Wu
Petitions for a Just War Against the Northern Heartland
The Riverlands army started homeward; Meng Huo led the chiefs of the hollows and coves as well as other tribal leaders and tribesmen as they gathered around Kongming in obeisance to see him off. It was autumn, the ninth month of the year, when the vanguard reached the River Lu. Suddenly thick clouds darkened the sky and fierce winds blew. Told that the troops could not cross, Kongming turned to Meng Huo for advice. Meng Huo said, "An evil spirit has cursed this water; those who would pass must appease him by sacrifice." "What would please the spirit?" Kongming asked. "In olden times," Meng Huo explained, "when the god worked his wrath, they sacrificed forty-nine human heads—seven times seven—a black ox and a white sheep; then the winds would ease, the waters would subside, and years of plenty would follow."
"The campaign is over," Kongming said. "It would be wrong to kill." He went to the riverbank and found the army panicking as the storm raged and waves and breakers surged and swelled. Perplexed, Kongming sought out some natives to advise him. They said, "After Your Excellency first passed through, all we heard by the shore night after night was the moaning of ghosts and the howling of spirits. From day's end to dawn the cries went on. Shades beyond numbering, shrouded in the miasma, have haunted the waters after your passage, and now no man dares to cross."
Three Kingdoms Page 118